my take...they come up with a 'cease-fire' just as obama takes office...mission accomplished
WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice headed to New York on Tuesday afternoon for meetings with Arab and European diplomats, amid tentative signs of hope for a proposed cease-fire in Gaza.
The United States is trying to persuade countries in the Middle East to back a cease-fire based on three pillars: an end to the rocket attacks; an arrangement to open border crossings into Gaza; and a plan to deal with a network of tunnels, which Israel says are used to smuggle weapons.
“There is some degree of coalescence around those elements we outlined,” said Sean McCormack, the State Department spokesman. He cautioned that the details of a deal were not yet “in sync.”
The United States has stopped short of calling for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza, declaring that any agreement needs to be durable, sustainable, and not limited by time. Ms. Rice will try to build consensus for such a plan with Arab countries, which could then exert influence over Hamas.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/07/world/middleeast/07diplo.html?_r=1&pagewanted=print