This Time article on how Condoleezza Rice negotiated a deal allowing Palestinians freer travel and trade from the Gaza Strip is worth reading to get a portrait of Condi in action.
An excerpt:
But Rice was, says a State Department negotiator, “?totally relentless.” She deployed her full arsenal of pesuasive techniques alternating between charm, relentless badgering and the intimidating suggestion that the most trusted advisor of the most powerful leader in the world was not going to leave town until she got what she came for. “When she focuses on something,” says a U.S. official present, “she will use whatever it takes.”
As for the deal itself, we’ll just have to wait and see how it turns out. There is always the risk that Palestinian terrorist groups will take advantage of the increased mobility to launch attacks against Israel. If that were to be the case, Israel would have no choice but to bring back the restrictions on travel. That, no doubt, would prompt Palestinian leaders to argue that Israelis are not living up to their end of the bargain. And so we’ll be back to where we started. I hate to be so pessimistic, but unfortunately, pessimists have had a better track record in predicting the future of this region.