Rice confirmation hearings target Bush policies
She must speak to wider audience as her role shifts from trusted adviser to top diplomat.
With confirmation of Secretary of State-designate Condoleezza Rice by the US Senate's Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday, confirmation by the full Senate on Thursday appears a foregone conclusion.
Nevertheless, Senate "opponents of [President] Bush are grabbing the
opportunity to bash his foreign policy," reports
Radio Netherlands.
Many editorials in the US and European press took the same tack on Wednesday. The confirmation hearings are prompting pundits to level broadsides against the Bush administration's foreign policy.
And though most news sources praised Ms. Rice's personal
accomplishments, criticism was directed at her should she continue Bush's record of a "lack of openness towards the outside world and listening to the opinions of others," says
Radio Netherlands.
The San Jose Mercury News wrote that the hearing put Rice in "
an unusual position." As one of Bush's most trusted aides, she was not required to "testify before Congress about the counsel she gave." But given the likelihood of her confirmation by the full Senate on Thursday, "she becomes a highly public figure with accountability before Congress."
The New York Times editorialized that Rice's appearance was "
wrongly discounted" as if she were "a newcomer to the Bush administration."
With a few exceptions, the hearing was political theater. Ms. Rice acted as if things were going according to plan in Iraq and everywhere else, and the senators acted as if she were not part of the serial disasters of the administration's foreign policy.
...she was so much the public face of the drive to war with Iraq that her appearances on Sunday morning talk shows became a running joke.
Twice Rice stated that "the time for diplomacy is now." She signaled that the Bush administration will seek to rebuild alliances and work with multilateral institutions as it tries to move beyond the military campaigns of the president's first term.The
Times countered Rice's claims that as secretary of State she would "engage in 'public diplomacy,'" saying this was not necessarily a good thing if it meant "trying to sell flawed American foreign policy to reluctant governments abroad."
It accused her of being an "enthusiastic supporter of dismantling international treaties and organizations from the start of Mr. Bush's presidency."
The Washington Post delivered a
back-handed compliment.
Better presentation and a more professional style could certainly help US foreign relations, which have been damaged not only by the war in Iraq and other substantive acts but by the arrogant highhandedness, incoherence, or simple neglect that much of the world has experienced from Washington. But, the
Post continues, "there is a limit to how much can be achieved without change in underlying US policy."
If Ms. Rice's testimony is any indication, little to none is in the offing. She staunchly defended the administration's strategy in Iraq, including troop levels that have proved inadequate. She restated policies toward Iran and North Korea that have put the United States at odds with European and Asian allies while failing to prevent both countries from moving to develop nuclear weapons. She had nothing new to suggest about the growing trouble in Haiti, or Venezuela, or the Darfur region of Sudan, all places where effective US engagement has been lacking. In addition to the war in Iraq, Iran, North Korea, and the Israel-Palestinian peace process were the main focus with calls for
energetic engagement by the secretary of State reports
Al Jazeera.
On the possibility or prospect of nuclear weapons in Iran, Rice was forceful in stating that "Iran has to be held to account for its international obligations," reports
Al Jazeera.
'That means the regime would have to deal with its nuclear weapons obligations, deal with the fact that there are Al Qaeda leaders who have been there, deal with the fact that they're supporting Hizbollah and terrorism and Palestinian rejectionists against the Middle East peace process.' Rice told senators that the Bush administration was "committed to a multilateral approach," with North Korea, not direct discussions.
The Washington Post called on Rice to make regular and visible interventions in the Middle East. "Real success would require a greater willingness to press an American agenda for peace with Israel as well as with the Palestinians."
So far so good writes Johnathan Freedland in a commentary in the
Guardian, casting the very fact of her nomination as a plus.
She is no Colin Powell, but by placing such a close confidante at the state department, Bush has upgraded the status of diplomacy itself.
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