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December 01, 2008
Obama To Restore UN Ambassador's Post To Cabinet Rank
Obama’s Choice for U.N. Is Advocate of Strong Action Against Mass Killings
CHICAGO
President-elect Barack Obama has chosen his foreign policy adviser, Susan E. Rice, to be ambassador to the United Nations, picking an advocate of “dramatic action” against genocide as he rounds out his national security team, Democrats close to the transition said Sunday.
Mr. Obama intends to announce Ms. Rice’s selection at a news conference here Monday along with his previously reported decisions to nominate Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton for secretary of state, keep Robert M. Gates as defense secretary and appoint Gen. James L. Jones, a retired Marine commandant, his national security adviser, the Democrats said.
The choice of Ms. Rice to represent the United States before the United Nations will make her one of the most visible faces of the Obama administration to the outside world aside from Mrs. Clinton.
It will also send to the world organization a prominent and forceful advocate of stronger action, including military force if necessary, to stop mass killings like those in the Darfur region of Sudan in recent years.
To reinforce his intention to work more closely with the United Nations after the tensions of President Bush’s tenure, Mr. Obama plans to restore the ambassador’s post to cabinet rank, as it was under President Bill Clinton, according to Democrats close to the transition.
While the cabinet consists of 15 department heads, a president can give other positions the same rank for the duration of his administration.
“She’s obviously one of Obama’s closest advisers, so it underscores how much of a priority he’s making the position,” said Nancy Soderberg, a senior United States diplomat at the United Nations under Mr. Clinton. “If you look at the last eight years, we obviously need to be more engaged at the U.N. and realistic about what the U.N. can do.”
At Monday’s announcement, the president-elect will also formally unveil his nominations of Eric H. Holder Jr. to be attorney general and Gov. Janet Napolitano of Arizona to be secretary of homeland security, the Democrats said. He will not announce any of the top intelligence appointments on Monday, but the Democrats said they expected him soon to name Adm. Dennis C. Blair, a retired Pacific Fleet commander, as director of national intelligence.
If confirmed, Ms. Rice at 44 would be the second-youngest ambassador to the United Nations. A Rhodes scholar who earned a doctorate in international relations at Oxford University, she joined Mr. Clinton’s National Security Council staff in 1993 before rising to assistant secretary of state for African affairs at age 32. When Mr. Obama decided to run for president, she signed up as one of his top advisers, much to the consternation of the Clinton camp, which resented what it saw as a defection.
As the ambassador at the United Nations, Ms. Rice will have to coordinate with Mrs. Clinton, but will not be in the White House or at State Department headquarters on a daily basis as major policies are formulated. One person close to Mrs. Clinton said the senator did not object to Ms. Rice serving at the United Nations.
Some colleagues from her Clinton and Obama days said Ms. Rice can be blunt and unafraid to “mix it up,” as one put it, on behalf of issues she cares about. Ms. Rice herself acknowledges a certain impatience at times.
Admirers said she is a good listener and able to stand up to strong personalities, including foreign autocrats and militants in volatile regions of the world.
“Susan certainly is tough, and she’s tough in exactly the right way,” said Strobe Talbott, a former deputy secretary of state and now president of the Brookings Institution, where Ms. Rice has worked in recent years. “She’s intellectually tough, she’s tough in her approach to how the policymaking process should work and she will be very effective as a diplomat.”
John R. Bolton, who was one of Mr. Bush’s ambassadors at the United Nations, would not discuss Ms. Rice’s selection, but said it was unwise to elevate the position to the cabinet again.
“One, it overstates the role and importance the U.N. should have in U.S. foreign policy,” Mr. Bolton said. “Second, you shouldn’t have two secretaries in the same department.”
During her first run at the State Department, Ms. Rice was a point person in responding to Al Qaeda’s 1998 bombing of United States Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. But her most searing experience was visiting Rwanda after the 1994 genocide when she was still on the N.S.C. staff.
As she later described the scene, the hundreds, if not thousands, of decomposing, hacked up bodies that she saw haunted her and fueled a desire to never let it happen again.
“I swore to myself that if I ever faced such a crisis again, I would come down on the side of dramatic action, going down in flames if that was required,” she told The Atlantic Monthly in 2001.
She eventually became a sharp critic of the Bush administration’s handling of the Darfur killings and last year testified before Congress on behalf of an American-led bombing campaign or naval blockade to force a recalcitrant Sudanese government to stop the slaughter.
Jerry Fowler, president of the Save Darfur Coalition, praised the pending Rice nomination on Sunday, calling it a powerful sign of the new president’s interest in the issue. The coalition is urging Mr. Obama to begin a “peace surge” of sustained diplomacy to address the continuing problems in Sudan.
“It sends a very strong signal about his approach to the issue of Sudan and Africa in general,” Mr. Fowler said. Ms. Rice will be joining a high-powered team on stage with Mr. Obama on Monday, most notably Mrs. Clinton.
The two rivals from the polarizing battle for the Democratic presidential nomination will seal their reconciliation with Mrs. Clinton’s nomination to head the State Department.
Some information on Susan Rice:
She served Bill Clinton as U.S. Assistant Secretary of State under Madeline Albright.
Rice is married to ABC News producer Ian O. Cameron, who has just been named the new Executive Producer for ABC’s Sunday political talk show “This Week with George Stephanopoulos.”
This from Newsmax from 2004 VERY interesting read how this Susan Rice :
Susan Rice ( who served as President Clinton's Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs) and Richard Clarke persuaded Clinton National Security Advisor Sandy Berger to overrule Albright on the Sudanese terrorism overtures, said Ijaz and Carney.
Still, Sudan made yet another attempt to share intelligence on bin Laden and al-Qaida with the White House, repeating the unconditional offer to hand over terrorism data to the FBI in a February 1998 letter addressed directly to Middle East and North Africa special agent-in-charge David Williams.
Rice played a major role in the decision to refuse Sudan�s offer to hand over Bin Laden.
"But the White House and Susan Rice objected," wrote Ijaz and Carney. "On June 24, 1998, Williams wrote to Mahdi, saying he was 'not in a position to accept your kind offer.'"
U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania were destroyed by bin Laden six weeks later, in a suicide bombing attack that killed 253.
Susan Rice was John Kerry’s chief foreign policy adviser when he ran for President. One of the major steps Kerry suggested for dealing with the Middle East was to appoint James Baker and Jimmy Carter as negotiators. When furor erupted at the prospect of two of the most ardent foes of Israel being suggested to basically ride “roughshod” over Israel, Kerry backtracked and blamed his staff for the idea. His staff was Susan Rice.
Wild Thing's comment.........
So it looks like we will be shaping our foreign policy around the U.N.’s agenda. I wonder if Hillary is throwing a few of those ashtrays she likes to throw.
I am glad they included what John Bolton had to say about this.
John R. Bolton, who was one of Mr. Bush’s ambassadors at the United Nations, would not discuss Ms. Rice’s selection, but said it was unwise to elevate the position to the cabinet again.
“One, it overstates the role and importance the U.N. should have in U.S. foreign policy,” Mr. Bolton said. “Second, you shouldn’t have two secretaries in the same department.”
Posted by Wild Thing at December 1, 2008 02:55 AM
Comments
Of course he's going to let the UN dictate what our military does and where it goes, just like Clinton did because they are not or were not qualified to be Commander in Chief. I feel so bad for my family members who are in the military now, as everything will change for them, and not for the better.
Posted by: Lynn at December 1, 2008 04:23 AM
Now now 'Comrade Cossack Commies for Change' - CCCP - CAMELOT II is here? The Obamessiah and Superman with a twist of Marx & Lenin, eh / da?
The Baracksheviks tried to kill us yesterday when we drove back home from South Carolina in the Washington DCCCP area - Obama stickered SUV's and Lincolns on the outer I-495 loop came at us from all directions, but the Death Star II navigated through it all. These POOR socialists sure drive EXPEN$IVE cars, or are they stolen Wild Thing?
Posted by: darthcrUSAderworldtour07 at December 1, 2008 06:22 AM
I guess that's what you call change?
Posted by: BobF at December 1, 2008 07:36 AM
This is what I feared most. With two sons in uniform, and a CIC with divided loyalties that would get our troops involved in peacekeeping missions in Africa. Conflicts that have gone on for thousands of years. The stage is being set. Let's pray that Donofrio is successful in the legal challenges to BO's rule.
Posted by: jim warren at December 1, 2008 09:43 AM
Well, UN officials must be jumping with joy. We are soon to be under their influence(New World Order?).
We are also now going to save Africa. That means tons of American taxpayer money and probably American blood. Think East St Louis or New Orleans type crime and corruption on a grand scale.
Susan Rice has plenty of liberal credentials, having worked for Bill Clinton and John Kerry. In a way you could say she has worked for Bin Laden also.
Posted by: TomR at December 1, 2008 11:13 AM
She sounds like a real genius. It was unconstitutional to accept this information yet Obama still hasn't proved his eligibility to be president.
On top of that Hillary Clinton is in-eligible to serve as Secretary of State. Article 6, secion 2. So what do they care, they interpret the constitution as they see fit.
Posted by: Mark at December 1, 2008 11:45 AM
Lynn, your so right, your relatives serving now will know first hand the changes. I pray for them every day.
Posted by: Wild Thing at December 1, 2008 06:23 PM
Darth, LOL I am glad you " navigated through it all." Bravo tah dah! hahahaha
Posted by: Wild Thing at December 1, 2008 06:28 PM
BobF, hahaa yes some 'change' isn't it. sheesh
( shaking my head)
Posted by: Wild Thing at December 1, 2008 06:32 PM
Jim, I will be praying for your sons for sure, please thank them for serving our country. And lots of prayers too what Donofrio is doing about this and for the Judges too.
Posted by: Wild Thing at December 1, 2008 06:36 PM
Tom, yes and I am just overjoyed by all of this......... no way. Help.......take us back to the other America pretty please.
George W. Bush has done more for Africa then any other President and he did it without the stupid UN and the new world order bs. Too bad that has not been enough for the lefties.
Posted by: Wild Thing at December 1, 2008 06:39 PM
Mark, "they interpret the constitution as they see fit."....that is just exactly what is going on.
That video of his interview in 2001 is haunting even more, his hate for the Constitution was scary.
Posted by: Wild Thing at December 1, 2008 06:44 PM
I have more faith that the Detroit Lions will win the Super Bowl this season then I do in the UN accomplishing anything meaningful in dealing with Islamofascist terrorism and world peace. What a crock of an organization. Susan Rice's only role will be to minimize the influence of the United States in the world and turning us into a third or fourth world power.
http://www.thoseshirts.com/images/imaoun500.gif
http://omdurman.org/cartoons/UN_food.jpg
Posted by: Les at December 1, 2008 07:13 PM
PS: Where have you gone Joe DiMaggio, John Wayne, Bob Hope and Presidents Teddy Roosevelt and Harry Truman (August 1945!)?
Posted by: darthcrUSAderworldtour07 at December 1, 2008 07:29 PM
