China Confidential

Foreign Confidential....

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Tuesday confirmed what this reporter has been saying for many months--that Hamas terrorists are serving as the "proxy warriors" for an Iran bent on acquiring an atomic bomb and destroying Israel.

Addressing the American Jewish Committee in Washington, Rice defended the US policy of isolating Hamas, which, she said, refuses to renounce violence, recognize Israel's right to exist and respect all previous Palestinian agreements with Israel.

"But perhaps of deepest concern, the leaders of Hamas are increasingly serving as the proxy warriors of an Iranian regime that is destabilizing the region, seeking a nuclear capability and proclaiming its desire to destroy Israel," Rice said.

'Belt of Extremism'

She described a new "belt of extremism" that ranges from Hamas in Gaza to the Lebanese Shiite Muslim movement Hezbollah in Lebanon to radicals in Iraq and "radicals even increasingly in places like Afghanistan."

It is "supported overwhelmingly by Iran and to a certain extent Syria, but particularly Iran, gives this conflict a regional dimension it has not had before," Rice said.

"How can any government negotiate with a group that sees every agreement, every choice not as a compromise to advance peace, but as a tactic to later advance war?" she asked.

"No, the only responsible policy is to isolate Hamas and defend against its threats until Hamas makes the choice that supports peace," Rice said.

Rice called for international support for president Mahmud Abbas's Palestinian Authority, which she said had "the will to fight terrorism" and "the desire to govern effectively" but did not yet have the means.