19 January 2005
Rice Presents a Foreign Policy Based on Alliance Building
Emphasizes need for enhanced multilateral relationships
By Merle D. Kellerhals, Jr.
Washington File Staff Writer
Washington -- Secretary of State-designate Condoleezza Rice has laid out an American foreign policy for President Bush's second term that calls for greater multilateral diplomatic efforts and alliance building.
"We must use American diplomacy to help create a balance of power in the world that favors freedom. And the time for diplomacy is now," Rice said during her confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee January 18-19.
Rice, a former Stanford University political science professor and provost, said American diplomacy faces three tasks:
-- Uniting the community of democracies in building an international system based on shared values and the rule of law;
-- Strengthening the community of democracies to fight the threats to its common security and alleviate the hopelessness that feeds terror; and
-- Working to spread freedom and democracy throughout the globe.
"That is the mission that President Bush has set for America in the world, and the great mission of American diplomacy today," Rice said.
Rice said the underpinnings of American foreign policy in the next Bush term are based on the view that "alliances and multilateral institutions can multiply the strength of freedom-loving nations." That, she said, will guide her actions as secretary of state.
She said the United States must continue to work, to support and to uphold the system of international rules and treaties.
"Our interaction with the rest of the world must be a conversation, not a monologue," she told the committee.
Rice has served the past four years as the president's national security advisor. She was nominated by Bush to succeed Colin L. Powell as secretary of state. Powell is a close friend of Rice and was a mentor to her.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which concluded 10 hours of testimony over two days, on January 19 approved her nomination to become the 66th secretary of state by a vote of 16-2.
Even though some senators expressed strong concerns about the administration's actions in Iraq and its conduct of foreign policy generally over the past four years, most have indicated they will support her nomination.
The full U.S. Senate is expected to easily confirm Rice's nomination January 20 during a session at 3 p.m. [2000 GMT] following Bush's second inauguration.
Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Richard G. Lugar praised Rice's service in the Bush administration and said that the complex job before her will require all of her talents and experience.
"American credibility in the world, progress in the war on terrorism, and our relationships with our allies will be greatly affected by the secretary of state's actions and the effectiveness of the State Department in the coming years," Lugar said in an opening statement.
Senator Joseph Biden, the ranking Democrat on the committee, said the United States faces two overriding national security challenges -- winning the struggle between freedom and radical Islamic fundamentalism, and keeping the world's most dangerous weapons away from its most dangerous people.
"To prevail, we obviously have to be strong, but we also have to be smart, wielding the force of our ideas and our ideals as well as the force of our arms," Biden said.
"Foreign policy is not a popularity contest ... We have to confront hard issues, and sometimes it simply requires us to make hard choices that other countries don't like," he added.
Turning to the Middle East, Rice said, "The stakes could not be higher. As long as the broader Middle East remains a region of tyranny and despair and anger, it will produce extremists and movements that threaten the safety of Americans and our friends."
She said there are hopeful signs, as Afghanistan and Iraq struggle to put their pasts behind them and choose paths of progress. She told the senators that progress in Iraq will be dependent on how capable the Iraqis are, but the process will have "ups and downs. We need to be patient."
"The success of freedom in Afghanistan and Iraq will give strength and hope to reformers throughout the region, and accelerate the pace of reforms already under way," she said. "And the establishment of a Palestinian democracy will help to bring an end to the conflict in the Holy Land."
Rice said the United States has taken encouragement from the recent Palestinian elections. And she said she will work with the Palestinian and Israeli leaders and bring American diplomacy to bear on this issue.
(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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