A Weblog of Centrist Voices in American Politics
|
|
|
A Weblog of Centrist Voices in American Politics | |
|
June 24, 2005Is it time to give Condi her due?(Cross-posted at The Reaction.) Well, maybe. Hear me out. I was one of those who were not impressed with Rice's performance as national security advisor. She may have had the ear of the president, but she was clearly outgunned by Cheney and Rumsfeld, and one wonders just how much influence she had in terms of both the war on terror and the Iraq war. And I worried that her appointment to Foggy Bottom would only solidify the unanimity that seemed to plague Bush's foreign policy team. At least Powell had independent stature, after all, and at least he could provide some sort of counterweight to the rest of that team. Or so I thought. In the end, was Powell all that effective? Did he balance out his opponents in the administration? Or was he not himself outgunned? As it turns out, Rice seems thus far to be an admirable successor to Powell. But where Powell was the outsider, Rice can balance out the rest of Bush's foreign policy team as an insider. She continues to have Bush's ear, but she now has the relative independence that comes with her position as secretary of state. No longer is she just the president's chief foreign policy advisor. Now she's one of his top Cabinet members. And the results are clear. To be sure, the apple hasn't fallen too far from the tree. Rice is still on Bush's side, as expected, and she's still representing Bush's interests in the international community. On Wednesday, for example, at a conference on Iraq reconstruction in Brussels, she announced optimistically that ''[t]errorism can be defeated in Iraq, it will be defeated in Iraq... When it is defeated in Iraq, at the heart of the Middle East, it will be a death knell for terrorism as we know it." Okay, but how? Unclear, unabashed optimism is, of course, the way of the Bush Administration generally -- consider Cheney's "last throes" comment -- but it would be nice to hear something other than unsubstantiated claims of hopeful resolution from the secretary of state. Nonetheless, Rice is proving herself to be a forceful ambassador for democracy and justice, and this, I think, is where ever her harshest critics need to give her her due. In Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, according to the Times, she "called on Egypt and Saudi Arabia on Monday to embrace democracy by holding fair elections, releasing political prisoners and allowing free expression and rights for women". "For 60 years, my country, the United States, pursued stability at the expense of democracy in this region here in the Middle East, and we achieved neither," she said in Cairo. "Now we are taking a different course. We are supporting the democratic aspirations of all people." And she criticized Iran: "The appearance of elections does not mask the organized cruelty of Iran's theocratic state." But she added, "The United States has no cause for false pride, and we have every reason for humility". Think about this. A woman. A black woman (neither of which could have gone over too well). In the very heart of the Arab world. Challenging Egypt and Saudi Arabia on their own turf. Addressing Iran and making a firm stand for democracy. Promoting democracy. One wonders what was going through the minds of her audiences. But she got her message across, and, in so doing, proved a capable proponent of liberal principles in an illiberal world, not to mention a fine representative of America's interests. But that was not all. In recent days, she has met with Sharon and Abbas to help hammer out an agreement for a peaceful Israeli withdrawal from Gaza (see here); told Syria to "knock it off" in Lebanon, where it continues to foment instability (see here); and pressured Pakistan to return Mukhtaran Bibi's passport so that she can travel freely (see here and, for my take, here). That's an impressive record, especially when added to her comments in Egypt and Saudi Arabia. This is not to say that all is well with Condi. Iraq continues to be a problem, and no one in the Bush Administration, Condi included, seems at all willing to admit that mistakes have been made and that perhaps the U.S. needs to reconsider its options. Blind optimism -- or, really, blatant denial -- doesn't help. Regardless, let's give credit where credit is due, and, these past few days at least, Condi has done very, very well. Posted by Michael J.W. Stickings at June 24, 2005 02:05 AMComments
I guess I've focused on a different aspect of Ms. Rice's current position, and ignored what she's been about - maybe because I've become deadened to hope where anyone in the current administration is concerned - so I'll leave her accomplishments to those who have been paying attention. She definitely looks like she's finally found her niche, and the relaxed, smiling person we're seeing now is such a contrast to scowling, prune-faced one she'd been in her old position. Even her hair has relaxed. I'm now of the opionion that she may just rise to the top of the presidential contenders in her party. Posted by: Wilma at June 24, 2005 01:09 PMThat may very well be the case. There's already a push for her to run in 2008, but I see her more as a veep candidate. McCain-Rice? Better, I think, than McCain-Bush (Jeb). There's still the sneaking suspicious that she's just out there to deflect attention away from the disastrous news coming out of Iraq on a daily basis, and that the Bush Administration's commitment to democracy amounts to little more than rhetoric, but she has indeed been impressive. Political opinions aside, I'd say it's too soon to judge her job performance. She hasn't had the title a year yet... And usually these types of things are defined by a single event or policy... After all, who the heck was President Bush BEFORE 9/11??? Posted by: Ryan at June 24, 2005 03:44 PMFair enough, Ryan. I'm certainly not suggesting that my judgement of her performance last week is final. Posted by: Michael Stickings at June 24, 2005 04:47 PMIn all fairness, I suppose I do have to give her credit for at least mouthing the right sentiment. And yet, to no small degree, couldn't the failure of Mr. Bolton to get through the Senate, or at least to get a committee recomendation in part be laid at Secretary Rice's feet? Food for thought...or discussion. Posted by: Ryan at June 24, 2005 08:16 PMI'm not sure that Rice deserves any of the blame for Bolton's troubles. Bolton has been his own worst enemy, after all, and Bush must have known full well that he'd be a controversial nominee. But the absence of Bolton from the State Dept. has, I think, freed up Rice to pursue a slightly more independent course. Remember that Bolton was there in part as Cheney's man at Foggy Bottom to monitor Powell and to sabotage his policies. But I would like to know why you think she deserves some of the blame. Perhaps I'm missing something... I'm not %100 sure, I'd have to think about it, just a vague notion that since she was NSA advisor during the time he received the intercepts which the Administration won't turn over... I can't help but to wonder at the irony. That, and as Secretary of State, one would think she might have some opinion, if not say, on ambassadorships, but I don't know DC protocal, so I can't say. Posted by: Ryan at June 24, 2005 08:29 PMAnother arena where Condi Rice has definitely not been given her due: she is (racially) diversifying the diplomatic corps, furthering the work of Secretary Colin Powell in this area. In both the State Department, and she was giving folks the hookup even when she was national security adviser. This diversifies the international relations arena with much-needed new voices and faces in this increasingly globalized world. Posted by: molotov at June 24, 2005 11:34 PMAside from her proven incompetency as NSA to Bush, The only way she can regain any legitimacy with me is if she does two full tours of duty in Iraq, riding around in a hillbilly armored humvee. Posted by: Marcus at June 25, 2005 05:27 AMIn Republican candidate polls that include her name, Rice scores behind McCain but roughly equal to Giuliani for second place. To cheer up those worried about the rightists, Sam Brownback barely registers as existing. Posted by: Tully at June 25, 2005 12:13 PMWell, that cheers ME up anyway. And that's hard to do. :-) Posted by: Blue Jean at June 26, 2005 08:29 PMI have seen a lot of accusations about wheat Rice said and didn't say, but no references to documentation. Anyone have anything like congressional committee minutes? Posted by: Ben Marbury at June 28, 2005 04:37 PM |
Archives
March 2006
February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 December 2003 November 2003 October 2003 September 2003 August 2003 July 2003 June 2003 May 2003 April 2003
Recent Entries
Dubai Out
Why So Long Between Democracies? Round One, Centrism Rock Lobster? Blackwell Releases "Worst-Treated" List "IRV" used in Burl., VT for mayor election. Great idea! Random Thread Election 2006: Round One A Proper Multiculturalism Bush proposes line item veto act - what's changed?
|
