Will Condi win?

Very good piece by Laura Rozen in WashingtonMonthly on whether Condi Rice will get "Powelled" as she calls it on Iran. Like former Sec. of State Colin Powell, will Rice be outmaneuvered by Cheney and Co?

Condi (through Chris Hill) scored a victory in North Korea. Plus the NKoreans had nukes.

But this is not good (and symptomatic of this administration's mo):

Rice knows how the system works. In February, she traveled to Jerusalem to attempt to restart the Middle East peace process. But while she was en route the neoconservative NSC adviser Elliott Abrams was, according to news reports, using contacts in the office of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to arrange a phone call between Olmert and Bush. After the call, Olmert announced that Israel would not recognize the Palestinian unity government as a legitimate negotiating partner—an essential precondition for productive talks—and that Bush supported Israel’s stance. Her position fatally undercut, Rice returned to Washington empty-handed.

Elliott Abrams the last neo-con standing in this administration working to undercut (outside their knowledge) the State Dept. simultaneously. Why does Bush seem to get such jollies after letting his kiddies fight amongst each other?

As Rozen admits, it is too early to tell how Condi's gambit on Iranian diplomacy will play out. Keep your fingers crossed. If Cheney wins this argument, look out.