[Beirut Daily Star] Secretary of State John F. I was in Vietnam, you knowKerry
Former Senator-for-Life from Massachussetts, self-defined war hero, speaker of French, owner of a
lucky hat,conqueror of Cambodia, and current Secretary of State...
said Sunday he hoped the Paleostinians pick a new prime minister who can work with the United States and "establish confidence" so that Mideast peace can advance.
Speaking to journalists in Tokyo, Kerry praised Salaam Fayyad, who until resigning Saturday as prime minister was seen as one of the Paleostinians' most moderate and respected figures. Kerry called Fayyad a "good friend" who made a big difference for Paleostinians.
Fayyad's resignation comes as Kerry is working to revive the Israeli-Paleostinian grinding of the peace processor. An important part of his strategy is developing the Paleostinian economy and state institutions so the Paleostinians can be a viable partner in any peace deal with Israel.
The United States had expected Fayyad to play a significant role in that effort.
But the 61-year-old political independent and Western-trained economist had clashed with Paleostinian President the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas
... a graduate of the prestigious unaccredited Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow with a doctorate in Holocaust Denial...
over the extent of the prime minister's power.
"We're totally committed to moving forward with the economic thing no matter what," Kerry said, citing U.S. business partners including Coca-Cola. "The West Bank is there, Paleostinian aspirations are there, the government is there. And in order to be a viable government, there's got to be more than one person that you can do business with."