Syria, Rice face off over prophet cartoon

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice (R) and Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni hold a press conference at the State Department, in Washington, DC. Rice on Wednesday accused Syria and Iran of inflaming anti-West sentiment and inciting violence for their own purposes during the international row over cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed.(AFP/Andrew Councill)

This is off CNN.Com:

(CNN) -- As President Bush urged governments to help quell the violence Wednesday, his secretary of state began sparring with the Syrian government over the deadly protests sparked by a series of cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed.

As world leaders and the editor of the paper that first published the cartoons speculated over how the violence escalated to a level that killed at least 10 people in different countries, Condoleezza Rice pointed the finger at Syria and Iran.

"Iran and Syria have gone out of their way to inflame sentiments and to use this to their own purposes, and the world ought to call them on it," she said at a joint news conference with Israel's foreign minister, Tzipi Livni.

Although Tehran did not immediately respond, Syria's ambassador to the United States, Imad Moustapha, denied Rice's accusation and tried to turn the blame for the violence on Israeli and U.S. policy decisions unrelated to the cartoon row.

"We in Syria believe anti-Western sentiments are being fueled by two major things: the situation in Iraq and the situation in the occupied territories, the West Bank and Gaza," Moustapha said.

He added, "We believe that if somebody would tell Secretary Rice that Syria is not the party that occupies Iraq and is not the party that occupies the West Bank and Gaza, then probably she would know it is not Syria who is actually fueling anti-Western sentiments."

On Wednesday, the death toll stemming from the violence reached at least 10, as Afghan police shot and killed several of about 600 protesters trying to storm a U.S. military base.

Video grab of Afghan protesters throwing stones outside a NATO peacekeeping base manned by Norwegian troops as its walls burn in Maymana, Afghanistan February 7, 2006. Afghan police opened fire on a mob trying to storm the base on Tuesday, killing four people as protests over cartoons depicting Islam's Prophet Mohammad flared again. Via REUTERS TV

What the heck is Condi Rice doing, flapping her mouth at how Syria and Iran are responsible for these protests on the cartoons? Talk about cheap, ridiculous potshots here!

And that is what this story is here--a Bush administration pot-shot against Syria and Iran by White House attack dogs, while the president remains above the fray, calling for the world governments end to the violence. According to the CNN story:

Bush appeared with Jordan's King Abdullah II on Wednesday morning, and both urged leaders in affected nations to step in.

"I call upon the governments around the world to stop the violence, to be respectful, to protect property and protect the lives of innocent diplomats who are serving their countries overseas," Bush said, referring to the attacks on Danish and other European embassies in several capitals.

Abdullah condemned the violence as well as anything that "vilifies the Prophet Mohammed" and said there was no problem with protesting as long as demonstrators do it "thoughtfully, articulately, express their views peacefully."

US President George W. Bush (R) greets Jordan's King Abdullah II in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC. Bush condemned the violent response to newspaper cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed, but warned that the media have "the responsibility to be thoughtful."(AFP/Brendan Smialowski)

This is just another example of the administration's playing of campaign politics for the American public. The only difference between this post, and my previous post today, is that we've got Condi Rice playing the "bad cop," to President Bush's "good cop."

I sort of wonder when Don Rumsfeld is going to step into this mess?