Rice selected for new high-profile role in Obama administration

President Barack Obama chose close confidante Susan Rice as his new national security adviser on Wednesday, increasing White House control over foreign policy and defying Republican critics of her handling of last year's deadly attack on a U.S. diplomatic compound in Libya.

Rice, selected to replace Tom Donilon in the post, is expected to play a high-profile role in defending Obama's foreign policy, particularly on the civil war in Syria. Obama has come under fire for his cautious approach to mounting evidence that President Bashar al-Assad used chemical weapons against rebels seeking to oust him.

Obama will nominate Samantha Power - a Pulitzer Prize-winning author about genocide, former White House aide and Harvard professor - to replace Rice as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, White House officials said.

The selection of the pair raises the question of whether Obama's foreign policy might place more emphasis on human rights issues during his second term.

Rice's appointment could anger Republicans who have sharply criticized her role in the handling of last September's attack on a U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya that killed four Americans, including U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens.

Obama had been expected to pick Rice, 48, as national security adviser since she withdrew last December from consideration to replace Hillary Clinton as secretary of state under intense criticism from Republicans about Benghazi. She had been Obama's first choice to replace Clinton, but the job instead went to John Kerry.

Rice will take over from Donilon in July as the official who coordinates U.S. foreign policy from the White House. Obama will avoid a congressional fight, though, because the post does not require Senate confirmation.

"She is at once passionate and pragmatic," Obama said, flanked by Donilon, Rice and Power in the White House Rose Garden. "I think everybody understands Susan is a fierce champion for justice and human dignity, but she's also mindful that we have to exercise our power wisely and deliberately."

In her remarks, Rice did not mention the Benghazi attack or the Republican criticism. She said she looked forward to working with "our country's most experienced leaders from both parties."

Republicans have accused Rice of playing down the Benghazi incident for political purposes by initially describing it on Sunday TV news shows as the result of a spontaneous protest, rather than a terrorist attack.

Republican Senator John McCain, a leading opponent of the way Obama has handled the Benghazi controversy, tweeted that he disagreed with Rice's selection but said, "I'll make every effort" to work with her.

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