Is Condi Part of the Problem?
BY Herschel Smith
18 years, 5 months ago
As a dedicated long-time follower of the antics of the State Department, I have noted for years how they have continually undermined conservative Presidents from Reagan to Bush. For example, the State Department wanted nothing to do with “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” What is now one of the great defining moments in the twentieth century for freedom in the world, was at the time an embarrassment to the State Department.
Enter Condoleezza Rice. Her intent was to reform the State Department into the instrument of U.S. policy it was supposed to be all along. But has Condi been co-opted by the State Department rather than the other way around? An interesting piece has been posted in Insight Magazine (select link for whole article):
A major problem, critics said, is Miss Rice’s ignorance of the Middle East. They said the secretary relies completely on Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns, who is largely regarded as the architect of U.S. foreign policy. Miss Rice also consults regularly with her supporters on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Chairman Richard Lugar and the No. 2 Republican, Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska.
The critics said Miss Rice has adopted the approach of Mr. Burns and the State Department bureaucracy that most—if not all—problems in the Middle East can be eased by applying pressure on Israel. They said even as Hezbollah was raining rockets on Israeli cities and communities, Miss Rice was on the phone nearly every day demanding that the Israeli government of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert exercise restraint.
“Rice attempted to increase pressure on Israel to stand down and to demonstrate restraint,” said Stephen Clemons, director of the American Strategy Program at the New America Foundation. “The rumor is that she was told flatly by the prime minister’s office to back off.”
There are calls for Rice’s removal from conservative quarters. Is it time for her to go? Time will tell, but time is something we really don’t have with North Korea and Iran.
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