The administration's strategy appears to be to back parts of the recommendations that are under way already, or that are considered minor modifications of those efforts, and pick away at those that the administration believes imply retreat or folly.
For example, the administration is embracing a recommendation that it put more energy into reviving Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.
Rice is planning a trip to the region early next year, and the administration says it plans to build on a new initiative by Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.
Similarly, officials have described the report's call for the creation of an "Iraq International Support Group" as an expansion of two forums that Rice has already met with -- an economic cooperation group called the "Compact for Iraq" and the "Gulf Plus Two" group, which includes the Gulf Cooperation Council plus Egypt and Jordan.
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