Overheard in the Muqata’a

Posted on August 26th, 2008 by Marian Houk

U.S. officials who had been present in the just-concluded meeting between U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice and Palestinian President Mahmoud today in the Muqata’a presidential palace in Ramallah, but who were waiting for the two principles to appear for a press conference, were joking around — with one or another of the five journalists who composed the U.S. traveling Press pool.

David Welch (Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs), Rice’s aide, jokingly revealed to one of the traveling press corps traveling with Rice a small glimpse of a healthy-looking Cuban Cohiba cigar in his suit jacket pocket. Ohhhhhh, one of the journalists exclaimed … Cuban cigars are, I believe, still banned in the USA.

Then Walsh said (in a manner that clearly indicated that the punch line was meant as a joke): “I get one of these for every checkpoint”…

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