"We are sending signals today that no matter how much you provoke us, no matter how viciously you describe things in public, no matter how many things you're doing with missiles and nuclear weapons, the most you'll get out of us is talk," former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said. "You say there will be consequences. There are none."

"Rice attempted to increase pressure on Israel to stand down and to demonstrate restraint," said Stephen Clemons, director of the American Strategy Program at the New America Foundation.

The criticism of Miss Rice has been intense and comes from a range of Republican loyalists, including current and former aides in the Defense Department and the office of Vice President Dick Cheney. A leading public critic of Miss Rice has been Richard Perle, a former chairman of the Pentagon's Defense Policy Board and regarded as close to Mr. Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

Mr. Perle... has accused Miss Rice of succumbing to a long-time State Department agenda of meaningless agreements meant to appease enemies of the United States. Mr. Perle's article was said to have reflected the views of many of Mr. Bush's appointees in the White House, Defense Department and State Department. Mr. Perle maintains close contacts to U.S. ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton, Undersecretary of State for Arms Control Robert Joseph, Deputy National Security Advisor Elliot Abrams and Mr. Cheney's national security adviser, John Hannah.

The critics within the administration expect a backlash against Miss Rice that could lead to her transfer in wake of the congressional elections in 2006. They said by that time even Mr. Bush will recognize the failure of relying solely on diplomacy in the face of Iran's nuclear weapons program.

"At that point, Rice will be openly blamed and Bush will have a very hard time defending her," said a GOP source with close ties to the administration.

I wouldn't be so sure:

WHO WILL REPLACE CONDI RICE?
by not sam
April 22, 2006

After the President, following his own policy, will have to fire her for this:

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice leaked national defense information to a pro-Israel lobbyist in the same manner that landed a lower-level Pentagon official a 12-year prison sentence, the lobbyist's lawyer said Friday. The allegations against Rice came as a federal judge granted a defense request to issue subpoenas sought by the defense for Rice and three other government officials in the trial of Steven Rosen and Keith Weissman. The two are former lobbyists with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee who are charged with receiving and disclosing national defense information.

Nothing seems to have come from this, but one does have to ask just what secret information Condi revealed? Was it relevant to the current Israeli attack on Lebanon? One wonders!

But only one columnist that I can find - and his politics are clearly conservative if one reads the original article from which these excerpts are taken - understands the most important point that the neo-confidence hit men choose to ignore:

Missiles are flying; Rumsfield, Rice have to go
By Gabe Caggiano

The Montgomery County Sentinel, published weekly by Montgomery Sentinel Publishing, Inc., is a community newspaper covering Montgomery County, Maryland and The Prince George's Sentinel, published weekly by Berlyn Inc., is a community newspaper covering Prince George's County, Maryland.

Israel - and American by extension - are facing a huge crisis, with Israel and Hezbollah going at it like they haven't in years. Diplomatic experts from both sides of the political aisle are stunned and furious that the Bush administration has been so ineffective and essentially confused as to what to do next.

* John Bolton at the U.N. said Wednesday, "If anyone knows how you get a terrorist organization to agree to a cease-fire, we'd like to hear it." Hey, that's your job, Mr. United States' Ambassador to the United Nations.

* Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright cannot understand why a U.S. diplomatic envoy didn't head to the Middle East immediately when the fighting began.

* Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich is disgusted with the erratic and bumbling manner in which Condoleezza Rice has responded to North Korea. Gingrich recently said, "Is the next step for Condi to go dancing with Kim Jong?" Ouch.

The problem is that war is breaking out on multiple fronts, and the U.S. is one step behind it all. If this country is to survive and not be dragged into another war, Condoleezza Rice and Donald Rumsfeld must resign. They are woefully in over their heads, and the bad people of the world smell it.

That smell is the aroma of fear - and this article implies that one major source of this odor is the First Coward himself:

President Bush showed no trepidation when he invaded Iraq, presumably because he listened to Dick Cheney and thought it would be a cake walk. When you watch the video of Bush landing on that carrier in a flight suit, it makes you cringe with disgust, not swell with pride. For all of President Bush's talk about a proactive foreign policy to stop terrorism and other aggressive acts of war before they threaten world peace, Bush has not followed through in containing our enemies. He's actually emboldened them.

Let that sink in for a minute. [W]hen there is a Katrina disaster, an enemy missile launch, a stubborn insurgency, a rogue nation intent on getting nuclear weapons, or fighting in Lebanon, Bush has only one idea: veto a bill allowing stem-cell research.

But never fear! George's defense squad will see to it that he's protected - and maybe THE Donald as well - by distracting the wolves with a sacrificial scapegoat - Condi.