WASHINGTON - Secretary of State nominee Condoleezza Ricegave no ground in Senate confirmation questioning yesterday, insisting theUnited States was fully prepared for the Iraq war and its aftermath andrefusing to give a timetable for U.S. troops to come home.
An American exit strategy depends on Iraq's ability todefend itself against terrorists after this month's elections, she said.
Rice seemed headed for easy confirmation by the Senate asPresident Bush's choice to be the country's top diplomat. She did have a tenseexchange with Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif. - Rice repeatedly asked the senatornot to question her truthfulness - but former presidential nominee John Kerry,D-Mass., was the only member of the Foreign Relations Committee who told hershe might not win his vote.
"This was never going to be easy," Rice said ofthe war and its aftermath during a confirmation hearing in which she painted anoptimistic picture of the future in Iraq - and for resolution of the longconflict between Israel and the Palestinians as well.
"It was always going to have ups and downs. I'm surethat we have made many decisions, some of which were good, some of which mightnot have been good, but the ouster of Saddam Hussein was worth the price,"Rice said. "I think we made the right decision to overthrow him."
Rice said the administration's actions after the Sept.11, 2001, terror attacks - including the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq - were"difficult and necessary and right."
Asked whether, with hindsight, the United States shouldhave committed more troops to Iraq, Rice said that despite "someunforeseen circumstances" she was satisfied with the numbers.
As for U.S. troops leaving, she said in response toforceful questioning from Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, "Ourrole is directly proportional ... to how capable the Iraqis are."
"I am really reluctant to try to put a timetable onthat, because I think the goal is to get the mission accomplished and thatmeans that the Iraqis have to be capable of some things before we lessen ourown responsibility," she said.
She pledged to work to improve ties that were frayed withsome allies by U.S. policy.
If confirmed Rice, 50, would be the first black woman tolead the State Department. She would replace the popular Colin Powell asAmerica's most visible face abroad. As White House national security adviserfor the past four years, Rice was Bush's most trusted foreign affairs adviserand a main architect of policies in Iraq, Europe and elsewhere.
She said of the Iraq invasion almost two years ago,"We did meet with some unforeseen circumstances, most importantly as weswept through the country really rather rapidly."
Rice said spreading democracy through the Middle Eastremains a top administration objective. The Palestinian election earlier thismonth following the death of Yasser Arafat offers "a moment ofopportunity," she said.
But Rice also said Palestinian leaders need to do more toend terrorism against Israel.
"No one has objections in principle" to thenaming of a new presidential envoy to help shepherd the peace process, Ricesaid, but "it is a question over whether that is appropriate" at thistime.
More broadly, she said there remain "outposts oftyranny" in the world that require close attention, citing North Korea,Iran, Cuba, Belarus, Zimbabwe and Myanmar, also known as Burma.
"We must remain united in insisting that Iran andNorth Korea abandon their nuclear weapons ambitions and choose instead the pathof peace," she said.
Rice also pledged to embrace public diplomacy, theface-to-face struggle to win support for U.S. policies and ideals abroad.
"The time for diplomacy is now," she said in aremark that appeared aimed at critics who accuse the administration ofgo-it-alone tactics.
That brought a sharp retort from the panel's seniorDemocrat, Sen. Joseph Biden of Delaware: "The time for diplomacy is longoverdue."
Rice answered the day's harshest questioning, from Sen.Boxer, with a rare note of strain in her voice. Boxer came close to accusingRice of having lied in her public statements about the run-up to war in Iraq.
"Your loyalty to your mission you were givenoverwhelmed your respect for the truth, and I don't say it lightly," Boxersaid.
"I have never, ever lost respect for the truth inservice of anything," Rice replied coolly. "It is not my nature, itis not my character. And I would hope that we can have this conversation ...without impugning my credibility or my integrity."
Rice grew up in segregated Birmingham, Ala., thegranddaughter of a poor cotton farmer.
"I am especially indebted to those who fought andsacrificed in the civil rights movement so that I could be here today,"she said.
Under questioning, Rice also:
- Said the administration was paying close attention"to the progress or lack of thereof of democracy" in Russia underPresident Vladimir Putin. Bush meets with Putin on a trip to Europe next month.
- Agreed with Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., that theUnited States needs to do more to fight drug trafficking and to supportdemocratic and economic reforms in Central and South America, citing"grave challenges to some of these regimes."
- Said that the Dec. 26 Asian tsunami presented a"wonderful opportunity" for the United States to reach out tocountries in the Muslim world and build good will, a remark that Boxer brandedas insensitive to the widespread deaths and destruction.
17 Archives
The Associated Press
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National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice reacts to questions from Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2005, on Capitol Hill during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Rice's nomination to be Secretary of State.
