Olmert says he talked Bush out of cease-fire vote

Speaking to an audience in Ashkelon, Israel, Olmert said he had called Bush last Thursday and convinced him that the United States should not vote for a pending U.N. Security Council resolution urging a cease-fire in Gaza.

Olmert said Bush's agreement "embarrassed" Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice because the resolution was one that she had "cooked up, she organized, she formulated, she maneuvered," according to comments reported by Israel Radio.

"And she was left pretty embarrassed, abstaining on a draft resolution she organized herself," Olmert added.

Within Israel, Olmert and his government have been under heavy criticism for not being able to blunt passage of the cease-fire resolution, and some analysts in the United States and Israel saw the comments as an attempt to deflect blame.

Sean McCormack, Rice's chief spokesman, said she had decided the previous day not to vote for the resolution. But some analysts said Olmert's remarks would be received with displeasure in Washington, since, among other things, he suggested that Israel has been directing U.S. policy on the Middle East.

"This is terrible for the United States," said Daniel Levy, a former Israeli peace negotiator. "This confirms every assumption they have in the Arab world about the tail wagging the dog. . . . It's a story you're likely to hear quoted there for years to come."

Levy also accused Olmert of "unparalleled arrogance." Olmert, who is about to leave office, may have thought mistakenly that his words would not be widely noticed.

"There are some things you don't say, even in Ashkelon, even in Hebrew," said Levy, who is now with the Century Foundation in Washington.

Olmert told the crowd that when he heard a Security Council vote was to come in 10 minutes, he tracked down Bush, who he was told was speaking in Philadelphia. According to Olmert's account, Bush left the podium to take his call.

Olmert said Bush told him he wasn't familiar with the text. But Olmert said he told the president: " 'I'm familiar. You can't vote for it.' [Bush] gave an order to the secretary of State, and she didn't vote for it."