Condoleezza Rice, who has been President Bush's national security adviser for the past four years, said Tuesday she would rebuild strained American alliances and work to win over Muslims and other disaffected groups around the world.
Rice (50) called for a transformational diplomacy to carry out Bush's call for the spread of American values abroad - the great mission for American diplomacy today.
Speaking at her confirmation hearings in the Senate, Rice said: “The time for diplomacy is now. America's relations with the world's global powers will be critical. Our interaction with the rest of the world must be a conversation, not a monologue.”
She also pledged to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, in the wake of the Palestinian elections.
Referring to Kerry’s statement and administration's policies on Iraq, Rice admitted many decisions taken by about Iraq might not have been good but said there was no doubt that the strategic decision to oust Saddam Hussein had been right.
Meanwhile, Rice’s first test will be on Iran, which she listed, along with Cuba, Burma, North Korea, Belarus and Zimbabwe as ‘outposts of tyranny’.
The US is engaged in internal debate on how to deal with Iran. US claims, along with Israel, that Iran is building nuclear weapons capability, while Britain, France and Germany are pursuing a diplomatic solution.
Iran's defence minister, Ali Shamkhani, yesterday warned the US and Israel against an attack because the country possessed ‘the greatest deterrent’.
He was speaking after President Bush refused to rule out a military strike. Shamkhani did not specify what he meant by "the greatest deterrent". It could be interpreted as a nuclear weapon, although Iran has consistently denied building one.
