Tuesday, January 18, 2005
Rice Defends Bush Plan for Iraq Against Senate Democrat Critics
Jan. 18 (Bloomberg) -- Condoleezza Rice defended the Bush administration against U.S. Senate Democrats' complaints that it misled Americans about the risks of war in Iraq and planned poorly for the postwar occupation.
Rice, who's seeking Senate confirmation as secretary of State, conceded few errors.
``I'm sure that we have made many decisions, some of which were good, some of which might not have been good, but the strategic decision to overthrow Saddam Hussein was the right one,'' she told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which is weighing her nomination.
Republicans control the Senate, and lawmakers from both parties say Rice, 50, will be confirmed, possibly as early as Thursday after Bush takes his oath of office for a second term. Democrats used today's hearing to highlight unease with the violence plaguing postwar Iraq, press Rice on U.S. policies toward Iran, North Korea, the Middle East, global warming, the trade deficit and other issues, and urge a more conciliatory approach toward allies.
U.S. relations with many of its oldest allies ``are frankly scraping bottom,'' Joseph Biden of Delaware, the committee's ranking Democrat, said.
``We pay a price for being the world's sole superpower,'' Biden said. ``Today, after a necessary war in Afghanistan and an optional war in Iraq, we are rightly confident in the example of our power. But we have forgotten the power of our example.''
``The time for diplomacy is long overdue,'' he said, even as he pledged to vote for Rice and said he's ``confident'' she'll be confirmed.
`Generational Struggle'
Rice, in her opening statement, pledged to work with other nations in the ``generational struggle'' against terrorism. ``The time for diplomacy is now,'' she said. ``Our interaction with the rest of the world must be a conversation, not a monologue.''
She made no apologies for the war to oust Saddam Hussein, saying U.S. policy since the Sept. 11 attacks has been ``difficult and necessary and right.'' She also said she still doesn't believe the Bush administration used too small a military force for the war and its aftermath.
The U.S. faced ``unforeseen circumstances'' when Iraqi soldiers, rather than stand and fight a superior U.S. army, ``melted into the countryside'' and returned later in the form of a guerrilla insurgency that has cost more than 1,000 U.S. lives.
Kerry's Critique
Democrat John Kerry of Massachusetts, returning to the panel for the first time since his failed bid to unseat Bush as president, said he's ``disturbed'' that Rice still can't concede an error in the size of the military force needed to control Iraq.
Asked by Chuck Hagel, a Republican of Nebraska, to define the U.S. ``exit strategy'' from Iraq, Rice said much depended upon Iraqis achieving political reconciliation following elections set for Jan. 30. ``But that's largely an Iraqi task,'' she said.
Democrat Barbara Boxer of California, challenged Rice's credibility, citing some past statements on Iraq that appeared to contradict subsequent findings, including her prewar warnings that Iraq was stockpiling banned weapons, assisted the al-Qaeda terrorist network, and tried to buy thousands of high-strength aluminum tubes only suitable for nuclear weapons programs.
``This is a pattern of what I see from you,'' Boxer said.
Rice said she ``never ever lost respect for the truth in the service of anything.'' She then told Boxer: `` I really hope that you will refrain from impugning my integrity.''
`Has President's Ear'
Bush recommended Rice, a close personal friend and adviser, to replace Secretary of State Colin Powell, who differed with the president on elements of his Iraq strategy. Bush didn't even consult Powell before deciding to invade Iraq, realizing his opposition, author Bob Woodward wrote in ``Plan of Attack,'' a book based on interviews with top administration officials.
The State Department under Rice ``will have a spokesperson who has president's ear and the president's confidence,'' said James Steinberg, a deputy national security adviser in the Clinton administration who's now director of foreign policy studies at the Brookings Institution, a Washington policy study group.
Democrats said that might not be enough, given the depth of opposition among key U.S. allies to several chief Bush foreign policy positions, starting with the war in Iraq but also including such matters as global warming and economic sanctions.
``The secretary who adopts a unilateralist approach in the international environment may miss important opportunities to prevent conflicts and to build alliances,'' Senator Paul Sarbanes, a Democrat of Maryland, told Rice. ``And in that regard I just note that it's not enough to have the ear of the president. I think the secretary of state must also win the ear of the world.''
Trade Deficit
Sarbanes repeatedly pressed Rice to explain how significant to her job she considered such facts as the increasing U.S. trade deficit and the decreasing rate of net investment in the U.S.
Rice told him such matters were primarily the concern of Bush's economic advisers, though she said the State Department could help by promoting free trade around the world.
``Of course, the strength of the American economy is an important issue for American power, and therefore an important issue for the secretary of State,'' Rice said.
Rice deferred the question of whether Bush should appoint a special envoy to encourage peace between the Israelis and Palestinians. She suggested, however, that the U.S. take a more active rule in helping Palestinian leaders ensure an end to attacks against Israel.
``The restructuring of the Palestinian security forces is something that we have helped with in the past and should now with other neighbors, like Egypt or Jordan, be helping with in the future,'' Rice said.
Courting Venezuela
Rice also criticized Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, whose country supplies about 15 percent of U.S. oil consumption, for failing to meet U.S. demands on democratic standards. Chavez, Rice said, is ``a democratically elected leader who governs in an illiberal way,'' whose ``government has not been constructive.''
Senator Christopher Dodd, a Democrat of Connecticut, said Rice should try harder with Chavez, noting Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva expressed anti-U.S. sentiments similar to those heard from Chavez before being persuaded to be more cooperative.
``It's a two-way street, Dr. Rice,'' Dodd said. ``It requires we work on it as well.''
Dodd also warned that the stability of some U.S. allies in Latin America is hurt by a Bush administration policy of cutting off military training funds to countries that don't grant the U.S. a waiver from a new international criminal tribunal.
Reshaping Leadership
Rice already has started to reshape the department's leadership, naming U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick as her deputy. They worked together on the National Security Council under former President George H.W. Bush.
There probably will be a renewed dependence upon the State Department to help negotiate U.S. positions abroad, rather than impose them, said Kurt Campbell, a Pentagon and White House official in the Clinton administration.
``Because we are tied down militarily, and that tool is basically exhausted, it's going to mean diplomacy has much more sway,'' said Campbell, director of the international security program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington policy study group.
The choice of Zoellick and the likely addition of Philip Zelikow, executive director of Sept. 11 Commission and another colleague of Rice from the previous Bush presidency, suggests she is forming an ``extraordinarily strategic and capable'' team, Campbell said.
Many senators on the committee praised Powell, who was secretary for four years after a 35-year career in the U.S. Army culminating in a term as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Rice called Powell ``my friend and my mentor.''
To contact the reporter on this story:
Paul Basken in Washington at pbasken@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Glenn Hall at ghall@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: January 18, 2005 16:16 EST
Jan. 18 (Bloomberg) -- Condoleezza Rice defended the Bush administration against U.S. Senate Democrats' complaints that it misled Americans about the risks of war in Iraq and planned poorly for the postwar occupation.
Rice, who's seeking Senate confirmation as secretary of State, conceded few errors.
``I'm sure that we have made many decisions, some of which were good, some of which might not have been good, but the strategic decision to overthrow Saddam Hussein was the right one,'' she told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which is weighing her nomination.
Republicans control the Senate, and lawmakers from both parties say Rice, 50, will be confirmed, possibly as early as Thursday after Bush takes his oath of office for a second term. Democrats used today's hearing to highlight unease with the violence plaguing postwar Iraq, press Rice on U.S. policies toward Iran, North Korea, the Middle East, global warming, the trade deficit and other issues, and urge a more conciliatory approach toward allies.
U.S. relations with many of its oldest allies ``are frankly scraping bottom,'' Joseph Biden of Delaware, the committee's ranking Democrat, said.
``We pay a price for being the world's sole superpower,'' Biden said. ``Today, after a necessary war in Afghanistan and an optional war in Iraq, we are rightly confident in the example of our power. But we have forgotten the power of our example.''
``The time for diplomacy is long overdue,'' he said, even as he pledged to vote for Rice and said he's ``confident'' she'll be confirmed.
`Generational Struggle'
Rice, in her opening statement, pledged to work with other nations in the ``generational struggle'' against terrorism. ``The time for diplomacy is now,'' she said. ``Our interaction with the rest of the world must be a conversation, not a monologue.''
She made no apologies for the war to oust Saddam Hussein, saying U.S. policy since the Sept. 11 attacks has been ``difficult and necessary and right.'' She also said she still doesn't believe the Bush administration used too small a military force for the war and its aftermath.
The U.S. faced ``unforeseen circumstances'' when Iraqi soldiers, rather than stand and fight a superior U.S. army, ``melted into the countryside'' and returned later in the form of a guerrilla insurgency that has cost more than 1,000 U.S. lives.
Kerry's Critique
Democrat John Kerry of Massachusetts, returning to the panel for the first time since his failed bid to unseat Bush as president, said he's ``disturbed'' that Rice still can't concede an error in the size of the military force needed to control Iraq.
Asked by Chuck Hagel, a Republican of Nebraska, to define the U.S. ``exit strategy'' from Iraq, Rice said much depended upon Iraqis achieving political reconciliation following elections set for Jan. 30. ``But that's largely an Iraqi task,'' she said.
Democrat Barbara Boxer of California, challenged Rice's credibility, citing some past statements on Iraq that appeared to contradict subsequent findings, including her prewar warnings that Iraq was stockpiling banned weapons, assisted the al-Qaeda terrorist network, and tried to buy thousands of high-strength aluminum tubes only suitable for nuclear weapons programs.
``This is a pattern of what I see from you,'' Boxer said.
Rice said she ``never ever lost respect for the truth in the service of anything.'' She then told Boxer: `` I really hope that you will refrain from impugning my integrity.''
`Has President's Ear'
Bush recommended Rice, a close personal friend and adviser, to replace Secretary of State Colin Powell, who differed with the president on elements of his Iraq strategy. Bush didn't even consult Powell before deciding to invade Iraq, realizing his opposition, author Bob Woodward wrote in ``Plan of Attack,'' a book based on interviews with top administration officials.
The State Department under Rice ``will have a spokesperson who has president's ear and the president's confidence,'' said James Steinberg, a deputy national security adviser in the Clinton administration who's now director of foreign policy studies at the Brookings Institution, a Washington policy study group.
Democrats said that might not be enough, given the depth of opposition among key U.S. allies to several chief Bush foreign policy positions, starting with the war in Iraq but also including such matters as global warming and economic sanctions.
``The secretary who adopts a unilateralist approach in the international environment may miss important opportunities to prevent conflicts and to build alliances,'' Senator Paul Sarbanes, a Democrat of Maryland, told Rice. ``And in that regard I just note that it's not enough to have the ear of the president. I think the secretary of state must also win the ear of the world.''
Trade Deficit
Sarbanes repeatedly pressed Rice to explain how significant to her job she considered such facts as the increasing U.S. trade deficit and the decreasing rate of net investment in the U.S.
Rice told him such matters were primarily the concern of Bush's economic advisers, though she said the State Department could help by promoting free trade around the world.
``Of course, the strength of the American economy is an important issue for American power, and therefore an important issue for the secretary of State,'' Rice said.
Rice deferred the question of whether Bush should appoint a special envoy to encourage peace between the Israelis and Palestinians. She suggested, however, that the U.S. take a more active rule in helping Palestinian leaders ensure an end to attacks against Israel.
``The restructuring of the Palestinian security forces is something that we have helped with in the past and should now with other neighbors, like Egypt or Jordan, be helping with in the future,'' Rice said.
Courting Venezuela
Rice also criticized Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, whose country supplies about 15 percent of U.S. oil consumption, for failing to meet U.S. demands on democratic standards. Chavez, Rice said, is ``a democratically elected leader who governs in an illiberal way,'' whose ``government has not been constructive.''
Senator Christopher Dodd, a Democrat of Connecticut, said Rice should try harder with Chavez, noting Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva expressed anti-U.S. sentiments similar to those heard from Chavez before being persuaded to be more cooperative.
``It's a two-way street, Dr. Rice,'' Dodd said. ``It requires we work on it as well.''
Dodd also warned that the stability of some U.S. allies in Latin America is hurt by a Bush administration policy of cutting off military training funds to countries that don't grant the U.S. a waiver from a new international criminal tribunal.
Reshaping Leadership
Rice already has started to reshape the department's leadership, naming U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick as her deputy. They worked together on the National Security Council under former President George H.W. Bush.
There probably will be a renewed dependence upon the State Department to help negotiate U.S. positions abroad, rather than impose them, said Kurt Campbell, a Pentagon and White House official in the Clinton administration.
``Because we are tied down militarily, and that tool is basically exhausted, it's going to mean diplomacy has much more sway,'' said Campbell, director of the international security program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington policy study group.
The choice of Zoellick and the likely addition of Philip Zelikow, executive director of Sept. 11 Commission and another colleague of Rice from the previous Bush presidency, suggests she is forming an ``extraordinarily strategic and capable'' team, Campbell said.
Many senators on the committee praised Powell, who was secretary for four years after a 35-year career in the U.S. Army culminating in a term as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Rice called Powell ``my friend and my mentor.''
To contact the reporter on this story:
Paul Basken in Washington at pbasken@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Glenn Hall at ghall@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: January 18, 2005 16:16 EST
