Posted on 11/17/2004 11:00:05 AM PST by squirt-gun
Wednesday 17 November 2004 02:02pm
THE WORLD'S MOST POWERFUL WOMAN Nov 17 2004
THE HARDLINE RIGHT-WINGER PRESIDENT BUSH IS MAKING THE WORLD'S MOST POWERFUL WOMAN
By Anthony Harwood In New York
IF THERE were a monkey in the White House - and many reckon there is - then his trainer would be the world's most powerful person.
In the case of George W Bush, almost everything he knows about foreign policy has been learnt from Condoleezza Rice.
His choice of Rice to replace Colin Powell as Secretary of State means that, if Congress approves the decision, she will be the world's most powerful woman.
Not only is she just as right-wing as Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and the others, she is also an expert in world affairs - which is just as well as Bush is a man who, prior to his first stint as president, had only left America's shores three times.
When he wanted advice, he turned to Rice - his trusted friend.
The President even named a rise on his Texas ranch Balkan Hill, because Rice gave him a quick history lesson on central Europe during a four-mile hike around his property
Her predecessor, Colin Powell, possessed formidable diplo hamstrung by opposition to his policies in Washington - a situation that drove him out.
So the good news is that the Bush Administration will now speak with one voice. The bad news is that the voice will be more aggressive and the sentiments more hardline.
The days of common sense diplomacy, as personified by Powell, are now over.
FORMER National Security Adviser Sandy Berger lifted the lid on Powell's ability to appease world leaders when Bush refused to listen to them.
"Colin was the side door they could get into when they couldn't get in through the front door'," he said.
"But the president set the course - and Colin had a hard hand to play selling policies which weren't popular with allies."
Well, if those policies remain disliked, it will be like-it-or-lump-it time for the next four years.
With Rice in charge at the State Department, not only will everyone be singing from the same page, they'll also be marching to the same strident beat.
So expect fewer calls for co-operation with European allies over North Korea and Iran's nuclear situation. Instead there will be a drive towards sanctions against the rogue states. In the Middle East, it will all be down to the Palestinians, who'll be blamed if it all ends in tears.
Powell's decision to step down after Bush's re-election was not a surprise.
But it is telling that his request to stay on longer, to capitalise on the opportunities for peace in the wake of Yasser Arafat's death, was turned down. There's a new team in town now and it wants to get down to business.
It's no secret that, since the first Gulf War, Dick Cheney never got on with Powell, while after the September 11 attacks Powell thought the vice-president had a bee in his bonnet about the link between al-Qaeda and Iraq.
Unlike other VPs, Cheney demanded to be involved in key foreign policy decisions.
So with Donald Rumsfeld at Defense also whispering in the president's ear, Powell was outnumbered.
Rice was part of the cabal around Bush which masterminded the war on terror. While she was with Cheney and Rumsfeld during war summits at Bush's ranch, Powell was conspicuous by his absence.
But despite being the "baby" of the group - she turned 50 at the weekend - Rice has wielded huge influence through her closeness to the president.
She was Dubya's tutor on foreign policy during the 2000 campaign and bonded with her boss due to their common love of baseball. A single woman, she was not tied down by family and would often be at Camp David to assist during visits by world leaders such as Tony Blair.
Rice was an Alabama cotton farmer's daughter who became an accomplished pianist and ice-skater before graduating from college at 19.
She went on to become an expert in international studies, speaks fluent Russian and was was the National Security Council's Soviet expert during the reign of George Bush Snr.
MORE recently, critics believe she has allowed policies to drift and she has come under fire for not acting on repeated warnings that al-Qaeda was planning a major attack on the US.
Former White House terrorism adviser Richard Clarke said a memo he wrote to her requesting high-level meetings nine months before the 9/11 attacks wasn't acted on until a week before the atrocities.
On at least six other occasions in 2001, Clarke said he issued detailed warnings backed up by intelligence reports. All were ignored.
Clarke even claimed that in one conversation Rice appeared not to have heard of al-Qaeda.
She later testified before the 9/11 commission, set up to investigate the attacks, and her alleged lapses are also likely to be scrutinised when Congress comes to approve her as Secretary of State.
But there is little doubt that the president's appointment will be rubber-stamped and that Rice will, indeed, become the world's most powerful woman.
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But Hillary is black and Condi is not. (Just ask the NAALCP)
And she's being criticized to succeed as the State leader. She did the diplomacy BEFORE she was chosen.
still spewing the untruths -same ole tactics...
That's three times too many!
"These weenies can't handle a real woman!!! LOL"
Not that I ever learned to handle one either, but at least I know when to shut my mouth and say, "uh huh!"
LOL!
Thanks for the clarification. I can't remember the source where I read the nitwit stuff in, but appreciate learning the real deal.
'Handle' to me = Respect ;)
Yes, it strikes me that if Rush, Hannity or any other conservative media voice had made a comment about a RAT politician referring to him or her as a monkey, the cries of racism would have been deafening. No, there's no double standard or bias in the media.
There that fixes it.
Just so.
The place of proper "blacks" is on the Democrat plantation, saying "Amen, brother," or "Amen, sister" to their betters.
(Democrats are permitted to say "amen," because everyone knows that they are never religious fanatics like most Republicans.)
.Bulls-eye!
This woman has so much more intellect than most media puppets who hawk the lies of such yellow journals as the NYT, CBS, ABC, etc.
They simply can't stand a black who won't stay in their intellectual cage. I think most reasonable Americans are genuinely fond of her and wish her the best.
You expected a boquet of flowers for Dr. Rice, perhaps? Not from these clowns.
Be Seeing You,
Chris
Another Euro dingbat who is actually given space to proclaim his batty comments.
Any comments like this about Mad Adaline Half Bright while she was the "WORLD'S MOST POWERFUL WOMAN"?
We have "these people" over here as well..Dan Rather is a good example but there are many others....no surprise there.
Moreover, there is nothing strange about writers being puppets for their socialistic handlers or media owners. All it requires is an exchange of their personal honor for the money, power, and the essential ego trip they all crave.
Yeah, and I wonder how many blacks, hispanics and women have the democrats put into real positions of leadership? Hmmm?
Spellman-Spelman
The best answer I ever heard anyone give a journalist who was trying to besmirch someone's educational achievements occurred when Joe Namath was first interviewed by the New York sports media after signing with the Jets out of the Univ. of Alabama.
One of the sneering, condescending writers asked Broadway Joe if he'd majored in basket weaving while playing football at U of A. "No, he said,I majored in journalism, it was easier." BWWAAAHAHAHAHA!!!
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