Rice Takes Center Stage at Confirmation Hearing
Democrats Press Nominee on Iraq
By ANNE GEARAN, AP
WASHINGTON (Jan. 18) - Condoleezza Rice pledged Tuesday to work to mend and strengthen ties with allies frayed by the war in Iraq. "The time for diplomacy is now,'' she told senators at her confirmation hearing to replace Colin Powell as U.S. secretary of state.
"The time for diplomacy is long overdue,'' retorted Sen. Joseph Biden, the senior Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He told her the United States is "paying a heavy price'' for the administration's policy in Iraq.
Despite pointed questioning from committee Democrats, Senate confirmation of Rice - President George W. Bush's most trusted foreign policy confidante - was all but assured.
Rice insisted that the administration's actions in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks - including wars in Afghanistan and Iraq - were "difficult, and necessary and right.''
She told committee members the "first challenge...is to inspire the American people and the people of all free nations to unite in common cause to solve common problems''
"If I am confirmed, public diplomacy will be a top priority for me and for the professionals I lead,'' Rice said in an apparent attempt to ease concerns of those who suggested Bush's foreign policy was too unilateral and unaccommodating over the past four years.
''American credibility in the world, progress in the war on terrorism, and our relationships with our allies will be greatly affected by the secretary of state's actions... Dr. Rice is highly qualified to meet these challenges."
-- Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind.
"My sense is that the president trusts her implicitly. There will be no doubt that she speaks on behalf of the president of the United States.'' -- Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.
"Despite our great military might, we are in my view more alone in the world than we've been in any time in recent memory. The time for diplomacy, in my view, is long overdue."
-- Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del.
"If confirmed, I will work with members of Congress, from both sides of the aisle, to build a strong bipartisan consensus behind America's foreign policy."
-- nominee Condoleezza Rice
Committee members used the confirmation hearing as a rare opportunity to press Rice for her views and role in combatting terrorism and waging war in Iraq.
Biden pressed her on Iraq, saying the administration must "level with the American people'' over an exit strategy and whether U.S. troop levels there are adequate.
"I would not presume to try to give the president military advice, but I do believe that he got good military advice and I do believe that the plan and the forces that we went in with were appropriate to the task,'' she said.
"We did meet with some unforeseen circumstances,'' Rice acknowledged, however.
If confirmed, Rice would be the first black woman, and only the second woman after Madeleine Albright, to be America's top diplomat.
She emphasized that spreading democracy through the Middle East remains a top Bush administration priority.
Rice said there remain "outposts of tyranny'' in the world that require close attention, citing North Korea, Iraq, Cuba, Belarus, Zimbabwe and Myanmar, also known as Burma.
Background
Born: Nov. 14, 1954, in Birmingham, Ala.
Education: Bachelor of arts in political science, University of Denver; master of arts, University of Notre Dame; Ph.D., Graduate School of International Studies, University of Denver
Family: Single
Career Highlights
2001 to Present: National security adviser
1981 to 1999: Hoover Senior Fellow and professor of political science, Stanford University
1993 to 1999: Provost, Stanford University
1989 to 1991: Director-senior director, Soviet and East European Affairs, National Security Council, special assistant to the president for national security affairs
1986: Special assistant to the director of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
"We must remain united in insisting that Iran and North Korea abandon their nuclear weapons ambitions and choose instead the path of peace,'' she said.
Rice also cited her background, growing up in segregated Birmingham, Ala, the granddaughter of a poor cotton farmer. "I am especially indebted to those who fought and sacrificed in the civil rights movement so that I could be here today,'' said Rice, who like Powell, is black.
She praised Powell as "my friend and mentor.'' Powell was often out of step with Bush's inner circle.
Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Richard Lugar opened Tuesday's hearing with warm words about Rice, who has served a mostly behind-the-scenes role at the White House for the past four years. He called her "highly qualified'' for the post.
Biden also praised Rice, but noted that "relations with many of our oldest friends are quite frankly scraping the bottom right now.''
However, Biden also had blunt advice for European critics: "I have one simple message: Get over it. Get over it. President Bush is our president for the next four years. So get over it and start to act in your interest, Europe.''
Rice has a sparkling resume full of firsts - including being the first woman to serve as White House national security adviser.
The Senate session was another first. Her previous Washington jobs, including a stint as a foreign policy adviser for Bush's father, President George H.W. Bush, did not require Senate confirmation and the intense scrutiny that goes with it.
Rice said she recognized that "America's relations with the world's global powers will be critical.''
"Our interaction with the rest of the world must be a conversation, not a monologue,'' she said. |
