The rise of Rice and a new 'realism'

Christian Science Monitor ^ | March 17, 2005 | Howard LaFranchi

[Crackingham]

She's in the news for her sartorial sensations and for a so-categorically-denied-it-sounded-like-yes response to speculation she'll run for president in 2008. In Condoleezza Rice's early weeks as secretary of State, she is racking up air miles at a near record pace and overseeing a Bush foreign policy that appears to be shifting lately in her direction. Some expert observers are calling it a shift to "realism" - of the kind Ms. Rice promoted in the early days of the Bush presidency, when she was national security adviser. Some signs:

• After months of refusal, the US is now joining three European Union countries in offering incentives to Iran to give up its nuclear ambitions.

• In Lebanon, the US has remained focused on demands for Syria's withdrawal while avoiding blunt criticism of Hizbullah's role there. That is widely seen as a "realistic" approach, given the Islamist organization's wide appeal in the country.

Rice is also marking her tenure early with a kind of suitcase diplomacy: She's in Asia this week, with stops in India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, before turning to China, South Korea, and Japan, to take up the thorny issues of North Korea and China-Taiwan relations. The whirlwind trip follows a stop in Mexico last week to set up Bush's summit with North American leaders set for next Wednesday, and earlier fence-mending forays to Europe - one with a detour to the Middle East.

"It was sometimes hard to get Colin Powell on a plane, but if things hold up it looks like it's going to be hard to keep Condoleezza Rice off of a plane," says Karl Inderfurth, a former assistant secretary of State for South Asian affairs, now at George Washington University's Eliott School of International Affairs. "That alone suggests there's going to be a different style to her secretaryship."

In some respects, the shifts in Bush foreign policy reflect a common readjustment that often takes places in the segue into a second term. "Clearly any administration after a first term picks up more experience, and you tend to see more skillful and sensible diplomacy," says Robert Lieber, a foreign-policy expert at Georgetown University in Washington. "You saw that in the Clinton administration between the first and second terms as well."

At the same time, it makes "perfect sense" to focus on Syria in the case of Lebanon, Mr. Lieber adds, because Syria is "causing problems with three of its neighbors" - Lebanon, Iraq, and Israel - that are in turn causing problems for the US and the international community.

But the cooperative stance the US is taking with partners - particularly the former bête noire France on Syria - is also reflective of other factors beyond the Bush administration, he says. "Now that the November election is behind us, countries that would have preferred John Kerry in the White House are being realistic themselves and coming to terms with this administration," Lieber says. "It's also important to realize that the fight over Iraq is over, and the world has moved on to what to do about post-Saddam Iraq."

And whereas Rice took a backseat and often criticized role in the first term's war years dominated by Donald Rumsfeld's Pentagon, the new reality - one that includes an emphasis on putting America in a positive light on the world stage - is one that fits the performance-oriented Rice.

[Congressman Billybob]

I have great respect for Secretary Rice, so I though it worthwhile to write about her this week. Click below.

Congressman Billybob

Latest column, "Condi Rice & Pierce Flanigan's Father's Hat"

[airborne]

"It was sometimes hard to get Colin Powell on a plane, but if things hold up it looks like it's going to be hard to keep Condoleezza Rice off of a plane,"

I find that very interesting.

[LauraleeBraswell]

Hold up

""• After months of refusal, the US is now joining three European Union countries in offering incentives to Iran to give up its nuclear ambitions.""

NO! They are joining us. And we offered PLENTY of incentives to Iraq. We try diplomacy first, remember. If that doesn't work we bring in the guns.

[Terpfen]

"It was sometimes hard to get Colin Powell on a plane, but if things hold up it looks like it's going to be hard to keep Condoleezza Rice off of a plane,"

Let's hope she can clean house while on that airplane. I'm still waiting for word on the disgruntled ex-State Department people, ala the disgruntled ex-CIA people who appeared right away after Porter Goss took charge.

Come on, Condi, don't fail us now.