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A wise decision and why I’m hopeful for change in US foreign policy under Obama’s 2nd term …
Obama Accepts Rice’s Decision To Withdraw
(TPM) – President Obama on Thursday announced that he has accepted UN Ambassador Susan Rice’s decision to withdraw her name from consideration to replace Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State:
“Today, I spoke to Ambassador Susan Rice, and accepted her decision to remove her name from consideration for Secretary of State. For two decades, Susan has proven to be an extraordinarily capable, patriotic, and passionate public servant. As my Ambassador to the United Nations, she plays an indispensable role in advancing America’s interests. Already, she has secured international support for sanctions against Iran and North Korea, worked to protect the people of Libya, helped achieve an independent South Sudan, stood up for Israel’s security and legitimacy, and served as an advocate for UN reform and the human rights of all people. I am grateful that Susan will continue to serve as our Ambassador at the United Nations and a key member of my cabinet and national security team, carrying her work forward on all of these and other issues.”
The Real Problem With a Secretary of State Susan Rice
(US News & World Report) – During the Bush administration, Rice, then at the Brookings Institution, was a leading advocate for intervening in Sudan’s civil war to protect civilians in the rebellious Darfur region. She suggested bombing various targets, an international peace-keeping force, and a naval blockade. She cited the bombing of Kosovo as an example of how U.S. and allied forces could intervene even without U.N. Security authorization, in contravention of international law.
Prior to the U.S. invasion of Iraq in March 2003, Rice said little about the merits of war there, but in December 2002, she offered support for the Bush’s administration’s handling of the situation, arguing that:
“It’s clear that Iraq poses a major threat. It’s clear that its weapons of mass destruction need to be dealt with forcefully, and that’s the path we’re on…Up to now, they’re handling it largely the right way.”
Subsequently, Rice criticized the conduct of the occupation but not the decision to invade. She became an advocate of nation-building in failed states. She took the standard Democratic hawk view on Iran: negotiate but threaten war to prevent nuclear weapons development.
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The problem with making Susan Rice secretary of state isn’t Benghazi. It’s war. Rice, like her “mentor,” former Secretary of State Madeline Albright, and the current secretary, Hillary Clinton, has supported just about every proposed U.S. military intervention over the two decades. The president should nominate someone that occasionally opposes a war.
Perhaps President Obama can find a Democrat who opposed the Bush intervention in Iraq based on falsifications. Need a bit of ordinary wisdom. Always wondered how Bill and Hillary Clinton could keem their loyalties and royalties separated. Of course if she desires to run for President in 2016, there are foreign interests she could not upset.
« click for article conflict of interests
Views of former Ambassador Edward Djerejan on the Middle-East
Djerejian also shared his views on the quality of American foreign policy in the Middle East. On the macro-level, he criticized American political theorists who after the end of the Cold War labeled “Islam” as the greatest threat to American security. Djerejian rejected the idea that we are, or should be, at war with another civilization. Rather, he preferred a more specific and nuanced approach, such as fighting Islamic terrorism. Djerejian also warned of the U.S. being too bold or ambitious in the Middle East. As an example, he criticized U.S. efforts to solve the Arab-Israeli Conflict rather than managing the conflict by actively engaging both sides. Another example of U.S. overreach in the Middle East was trying to “parachute Jeffersonian-style democracy into the Middle East.” Djerejian cited U.S. pressure on Saudi Arabia to gradually make their parliament an elected body as a positive model for U.S. policy in this area.
Drawing on his career of experience as a diplomat, former U.S. ambassador to Syria and Israel, Edward Djerejian, offered his insights and analysis of current foreign policy challenges facing the United States in the Middle East and South Asia to a full house at the Diplomatic Club in Doha on March 17, 2009.
See my earlier criticism of both Amb. Rice and Secretary of State Clinton for failure to recognize change in the Arab world and analyze how to cope and set policy goals in mutual interest of both nations.
Our Hawk Running the State Department with USIP Support
