A schedule of Secretary of State Rice's meetings on Israel's covenant land and corresponding record-setting U.S. weather disasters Jan 12-18, 2007

The Creation Groans Jeremiah 30:16-17 `Therefore all who devour you will be devoured; And all your adversaries, every one of them, will go into captivity; And those who plunder you will be for plunder, And all who prey upon you I will give for prey. `For I will restore you to health And I will heal you of your wounds,' declares the LORD, `Because they have called you an outcast, saying: "It is Zion; no one cares for her."' Jeremiah 30:23-24 Behold, the tempest of the LORD ! Wrath has gone forth, A sweeping tempest; It will burst on the head of the wicked. The fierce anger of the LORD will not turn back Until He has performed and until He has accomplished The intent of His heart; In the latter days you will understand this. Friday, Jan. 12: Secretary of State Rice left for Israel for meetings with the Israelis, the Palestinians, Egypt, Kuwait, Germany and Great Britain to discuss the peace process in Israel and attempt to gather Middle East support for President Bush's plans in Iraq. The same day a massive wave of freezing rain, sleet and snow began in Oklahoma, Missouri, Iowa, Texas and New York and Maine. The ice storm was described to be one of the worst the Midwest region has ever seen in breadth of coverage in so many states. Saturday, Jan. 13: Secretary Rice stated the following in a joint press conference with Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni: Well, thank you very much, Minister Livni. Tzipi, it's great to be here again in Jerusalem. We continue to support the Road Map as a reliable guide to the president's two-state vision — in fact, the vision now of all who are signed on to it. One of the very great values of the Road Map is that it has international support. It is the Quartet's document, it is Israel's document, it is the Palestinians' document; and it has, therefore, I think, a very important function. And we should never — as we look for ways to push forward and to keep moving forward — throw out the good work that we've done before, and obviously the Road Map is very important. I want just to note too that we have — the president has always said that he believes that — one of the most important things that he could do in his presidency would be to make progress toward — indeed, if possible, establish the foundation for — a Palestinian state. And so nothing should get in the way of the broadest possible conversations, certainly between friends, about how to do that. The same day, a crippling winter storm lashed the centre of the nation with another blast of freezing rain, sleet and snow, caused widespread power outages and tied up highways and airports. The storm continued through the weekend, coating ice and snow from Texas to Illinois, where an ice storm warning was in effect through Monday morning. Farther west, frigid arctic air reached as far south as southern and central California, where plunging temperatures prompted worry about the homeless and crops. About 300 flights were canceled at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, spokesman David Magana said. Cancellations also were reported in St. Louis, Kansas City, Oklahoma City and Tulsa. In Oklahoma, about 92,450 customers were without power early Saturday, the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management said. "The Plains are just getting hammered," said Michael Eckert, a National Weather Service forecaster. Sunday, Jan. 14: Secretary Rice said the following in a joint press conference with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas: I came here to Ramallah, as I am going around the Middle East to say to everyone that the United States is deeply committed to finding ways to accelerate progress on the Road Map. The Road Map, after all, is the internationally recognized guide to the establishment of a two-state solution, and we should fulfill all of its terms. I am also here to talk about how we can build on the momentum that is currently in Palestinian-Israeli relations, to look at the political horizon and to begin to show to the Palestinian people how we might move toward the establishment of a Palestinian state, something that President Bush has clearly set out as an objective of American policy all the way back in 2001. I want to say to you, Mr. President , as I will say to others, that I have heard loud and clear the call for deeper American engagement in these processes. The United States is absolutely committed to helping to find a solution where Israelis and Palestinians can live in security, in which they can live in peace and in which they can live in democracy. That night, about 330,000 Missouri homes and businesses were left without power, thanks to the major ice storm. Most of the Missouri power outages were caused by the weight of ice snapping tree branches and dropping them onto power lines, officials said. Monday, Jan. 15: Secretary Rice met with Egyptian Foreign Minister Gheit: Thank you very much, Minister , for receiving me here. I especially want to thank President Mubarak for receiving me and for spending so much time with me to talk about the issues of common interest here in the Middle East. We have also had an opportunity to talk about the recent discussions that I had in Israel and in the Palestinian territories that we hope will lead to further work on a political horizon for the Palestinian people that would lead, ultimately, to the establishment of a Palestinian state. I think that our conversations about this were rich. I've always valued the advice and counsel of President Mubarak on this issue. I explained that I will soon meet with Prime Minister Olmert and with President Abbas to have discussions about the broad issues on the horizon so that we can work on the Road Map to try and accelerate the Road Map and to move to the establishment of a Palestinian state. That same day, the entire state of Oklahoma was declared a state of emergency — and seven people are dead, thanks to the blanket of ice that covers the entire state and stretches into Missouri from a storm that moved into the Midwest yesterday. Three nights of freezing temperatures have destroyed up to three-quarters of California's $1 billion citrus crop, according to an estimate issued Monday as forecasters warned the weather could continue. "This is one of those freezes that, unfortunately, we'll all remember," said A.G. Kawamura, secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture. Tuesday, Jan. 16: Rice met with Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Saud al-Faysal: Thank you very much, Your Royal Highness. Thank you very much for welcoming me here. I would also like to thank very much His Majesty King Abdullah for hosting me last night. I did say to His Royal Highness that the United States would deepen its involvement in the efforts to find a peace between Palestinians and Israelis so that the president's vision of two states living side-by-side in peace and security could be realized, and described some of the efforts that we will be making over the next several weeks. I look forward to further discussion of that issue with the GCC, Jordan and Egypt this evening. A third of Texas remained under a winter storm warning, with as much as 6 inches of snow forecast to fall today, according to the National Weather Service Web site. Sub-zero temperatures were predicted for Texas and the Northeast, with winds predicted to pick up in New York state. More than 500,000 customers were without electricity late yesterday, according to the Web sites of utilities and state emergency management agencies. Wednesday, Jan. 17: Rice met with German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier in Berlin to give him an update on her trip to the Middle East: Well, thank you very much, Minister Frank-Walter for welcoming me here. Thank you very much for taking the time this evening to talk about the very broad agenda that we have. I am delighted to be here in Germany — because I think that after the trip to the Middle East and given the extremely broad global agenda that we share, it is important that we have these consultations. I do look forward to inviting the members of the Quartet to Washington during the week of January 29, probably toward the end of the week; in other words, the 1st of February or the 2nd of February. And so I look forward to that meeting as we re energize the Quartet in its efforts to support the progress in the Middle East that could lead to a two-state solution and Israel and a Palestinian state living side-by-side in peace, democracy and freedom. On the same day, a bone-rattling blast of sleet and snow kept Texas and Oklahoma residents shivering in its icy grip, while a blizzard north of Los Angeles caused big rigs to jack-knife. At least 65 storm-related deaths have been reported in nine states since Friday, including 10 in Texas and 23 in Oklahoma. The Alamo was closed Wednesday, as was a 300-mile stretch of Interstate 10 in Texas from Fort Stockton to San Antonio. Much of the brunt of the latest southern storms was to move east Thursday — but the reprieve may be short-lived. Another barrage was to bring up to 8 inches of snow to the Plains by late Friday. Many schools across Oklahoma planned to remain closed Thursday, some through the rest of the week, prompting concerns about how that instruction time will have to be made up. More than 250 flights were canceled from Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport on Wednesday. Austin-Bergstrom International Airport canceled 102 flights, while San Antonio International Airport canceled 23 morning flights and Houston's two major airports experienced delays. Elsewhere in the country, frigid conditions tested even those used to snow and ice. The entire state of Maine was no warmer than the single digits, and several communities saw dangerous wind chills. It was -16 degrees in Caribou. Thursday, Jan. 18: Rice meets with Blair to update Middle East efforts: U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived in London for talks with Prime Minister Tony Blair on the last leg of a trip to the Middle East and Europe, according to the Associated Press. Rice, who arrived from Germany after talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel earlier in the day, was to brief Blair on her Mideast talks, and also meet Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett, before heading home. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived in London for talks with Prime Minister Tony Blair on the last leg of a trip to the Middle East and Europe, according to the Associated Press. Rice, who arrived from Germany after talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel earlier in the day. During the meeting, Rice briefed Blair on her five-day trip to the Middle East, The Guardian reported. She reportedly said a plan for a meeting late in February between Israel and Palestine would not be a formal peace conference but "pre-negotiations" to explore ground for a settlement. She also said she favours a more unified approach, including possibly combining the "road map" for settlement of the Palestinian question with proposals put forward by Saudi Arabia. The talks risked being clouded by an outspoken attack on Washington by one of Blair's cabinet ministers, Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain, who blasted Washington's "failed" foreign policy in a newspaper interview. During her stopover in Berlin, Rice and Merkel focused their talks on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, seen as crucial for the stability of the whole region. "There is no doubt that there could be a very important effect on the entire region if we are able to make progress on Middle East peace," said Rice before leaving the German capital. On the same day, hurricane-force winds and rain lashed northern Europe on Thursday, disrupting air, rail and sea travel for thousands; and toppling trees and construction cranes. Reuters reported that Secretary of State Rice cut short her visit to Berlin in order to leave for London before winds worsened, landing at Heathrow Airport. Rice's plane landed in gusts of up to 80 mph in London. Traffic on the Eurostar, the train service that runs under the English Channel and connects London and Paris, was suspended for 90 minutes after an electrical cable holder was blown onto the tracks near the city of Lille in northern France, railway officials said. In an unprecedented move, Germany shut down its long-distance train service "to a large extent" on Thursday night, said Hartmut Mehdorn, the chief executive of national railroad Deutsche Bahn. "We have never yet had such a situation in Germany," he said. London's Heathrow Airport, Europe's largest, canceled 123 flights. Other major airports, including Frankfurt, Munich, Amsterdam and Vienna, reported delays and cancellations. Ferries were canceled or delayed in Britain, Ireland, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Finland; and trains were delayed in the Netherlands, Germany and Austria. On an interesting note, numerous weather experts compared this week's storms in the United States to the Storm of the Century of Mar. 12-15, 1993. It just so happens that Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was at the White House at that time being pressured by President Bill Clinton and Secretary of State Christopher to do more with the peace efforts in Israel.