Prometheus 6

Khalilzad said he had consulted "very closely" with Rice before presenting the draft resolution and that his staff had kept the Israeli mission fully informed of U.S. plans. Khalilzad said that Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, became "very upset" when they saw a copy of the text Thursday night. He said they had no problem with the language of the resolution but that they expressed concern "that it would give the U.N. a role" in the peace talks.

"Ultimately, we agreed with their judgment," Khalilzad said. 

U.S. Withdraws Draft On Mideast at U.N.
Move Seen as Blow to U.S. Ambassador
By Colum Lynch
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, December 1, 2007; A09

UNITED NATIONS, Nov. 31 -- On Thursday evening, Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, had all but persuaded the U.N. Security Council to adopt a resolution endorsing the agreement Israelis and Palestinians struck in Annapolis this week to work toward a political settlement before the end of 2008. But Friday, the Bush administration did an about-face, abruptly withdrawing the text while Israeli diplomats reiterated their decades-long opposition to a U.N. role in Middle East negotiations.

The blunder, an embarrassing footnote to President Bush's efforts on Middle East, also represented a personal blow to Khalilzad, who has generally won praise among foreign delegates here and in Washington for putting a more collegial face on U.S. diplomacy at the United Nations than did his more combative predecessor, John R. Bolton.

The incident raised the hackles of some State Department officials, who said Khalilzad has a history of diplomatic freelancing and that he had stumbled into his current predicament by failing to adequately consult the Israelis or his boss, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Khalilzad flew to Washington, where he met with Rice.

"It doesn't look good. I agree with that," Khalilzad said in a telephone interview from Washington late Friday.