Rice Preps For Peace Conference

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is delving into the past to look for ways to make next month's Mideast peace conference in Annapolis, Maryland a success.<br/><br/>The State Department

Saturday, October 27th 2007, 2:12 pm

By: News On 6

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is delving into the past to look for ways to make next month's Mideast peace conference in Annapolis, Maryland a success.

The State Department says she's researching past diplomatic attempts for peace in the region.

This week, Rice met with former President Jimmy Carter, who brokered the 1978 Camp David peace accord between Israel and Egypt. Rice has also phoned former President Bill Clinton to talk about the 1994 peace deal between Israel and Jordan.

And she has talked with former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright about the failed attempt to broker a peace deal betweenIsrael and Syria in 2000.

Rice is scheduled to travel to Israel next month to organize the Annapolis conference. Serious obstacles loom ahead, as both Israelis and Palestinians are far apart on a joint statement that's supposed to be presented at the meeting.