Baird Comes Up Short on Israeli Question

With the Israeli border question dominating international affairs recently, the new foreign minister says he needs to play some catch-up.

The country's new foreign affairs minister, John Baird, admitted he's got homework to do on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, one of the Conservative government's principal international concerns. Baird was asked by reporters where the government stood on UN Resolution 242, which says Israel must withdraw from territories it's occupied since 1967, before stammering and saying he's only been on the job for two weeks. The border issue has raged in recent weeks because U.S. President Barack Obama said reverting to the pre-1967 borders is a precondition of any peace talks between Israel and Palestine. Baird, one of the Hill's hardest workers, will surely read thousands of pages on the file soon and will be back slinging rapid-fire one-liners about East Jerusalem or the right of return in no time.