Susan Rice - Open Thread

Susan Rice will not be Sec State.  pl

Comments

[turcopolier]

ALL

As I said here earlier, her enemies were legion. This was altogether a matter of "style" and not of gender or race. p l

[mbrenner]

I would hope that there also was a "competence" factor in the equation

[Charles I]

Well now here's something the Repubs can dine on rather than themselves. Who's up, Kerry?

[jonst]

This is sweet justice.....good riddance to her, the cold heart-ed, money grubbing,.....

[Alba Etie]

Col Lang
I make these comment -under the heading of rumours heard locally ( Austin has become something of a sort of layover resting place for former DC government types ) . One of my customers is a self described refugee from Foggy Bottom -who was part of the neocon purge in the end of W's first term . Anyway this individual told me that Ambassador Rice would never be Sec of State - and that the realist in the BHO second term would be bringing' to heel " the MENA 'neo Wilsonians " -and there will be no intervention in Syria . This individual also stated that Samantha Powers would soon be leaving the administration . And that this former Foggy Bottom refugee is very confident that the BHO 2nd term administration is still digesting the Libya intervention and what to do about the jihadist there.
So file that all under rumours heard in a charter service in Austin on the way to the airport from a former G-14 on Dec 7 ,2012.

[ked]

A typical inside-game on the Hill... played to get at the prez, to demonstrate that his opposition still wields power... oh, & for sport... very sporting folk in politics.

[Alba Etie]

Col Lang
Huffington Post is reporting that Senator Hagel will be put up for Secretary of Defense - .If this is true & Senator Hagel is confirmed as Secretary of Defense would not that be a pretty good indicator that the realist are trying to step up to the plate -and push back on the mass psychosis of the war drums ?
I still am not convinced we will be going to Syria .

[turcopolier]

jonst

Her mother is a friend and a dear and distinguished lady. I will say no more. pl

[turcopolier]

All

I would welcome Sgt.Hagel as Secdef, especially with Bob Kerrey as his deputy. pl

[Alba Etie]

Would Secretary of Defense Hagel be party to an illegal occupation of Syria ?

[Clifford Kiracofe]

Politics is a blood sport.

[Fred]

To quote Ambassador Rice

"the confirmation process would be lengthy, disruptive, and costly ..." and this gem:

"The position of Secretary of State should never be politicized.... We cannot afford such an irresponsible distraction from the most pressing issues facing the American people"

Is it the opinion of Ms. Rice that American citizens, residing in the various sovereign states within the Union, should be forbidden from having their constitutionally elected Senators exercise their duties under the Constitution of the United States Senate to provide advice and consent in foreign affairs and cabinet appointments?

No wonder the senate wouldn't confirm her nomination. Hopefully someone will remind BHO that he was not elected dictator of the Republic.

[Clifford Kiracofe]

Rice is not competent to be SecState nor should she be in her current position where she ill serves our country. She would have been eviscerated on the Hill on the basis of her record. Nothing to do with gender or race as our host says. Her record and her incompetence.

Senator Kerry is well liked in the Senate and would have no problem with confirmation as Sec State. In fact, most Senators Democrat and Republican would be pleased with this development, IMO, one of the club after all and no problem with access. It would be a very good move for the President. His father was an FSO and he is smart and hardworking. Policy is quite another matter and we would have to await developments on that. I would think he would want to make his own mark and not follow along with the Hillary-Susan Rice-Samantha Power humanitarian interventionist/Neo-Wilsonian line. But this would remain to be seen.

Senator Hagel is an excellent person and would be an asset to the President and good for the country. Along the bi-partisanship line, the President might want to at least meet with outgoing Senator Dick Lugar for an exchange of views.

[bth]

Hagel would seem likely for Defense.

I'd guess John Kerry for State or a cross the aisle jump to bring in Powell?

[jonst]

I understand Col, and it is not my intention to cause discomfort to anyone, where, it can, and should be, avoided. I will say no more

[breathdair]

Considering her recent predecessors, C. Rice and Albright, the bar is already set pretty low.

I can't speak to personal motives, but I can't help asking if was the opposition to Rice by McCain and Graham a crass move to save their political hides? The Maverick has shown this sort of opportunistic behavior before on issues like immigration. Whether one is for or against an issue, it is still sleazy to see someone's positions change so rapidly based on political winds. And this should not be confused with carrying out his/her constituents wishes, which a politician is bound to do, with considerations of legality and judgement.

I'm not suggesting McCain is Machiavellian, maybe his handlers, he doesn't seem to be such a deep thinker. He is politically savvy, in his way, but not a Nixon. He knew that he needed to show his GOP voters that he was opposed to Obama, betting on short memories and attention spans.

Similar concerns might have motivated Graham. But this is speculation.

Crass motivation doesn't necessarily preclude personal motivations or anger. Nothing is so clear cut.

[PeterHug]

It is a true pity and a complete travesty that the discussion of whether Susan Rice should have been Secretary of State was focused on some partisan idiocy about what she said regarding Benghazi.

There are plenty of substantive issues and policy questions to examine, where her positions are not the ones I think are appropriate - but I guess that all those will be swept under the rug of expedience.

[Jane]

Kerry was not a particularly good strategist for his own campaign. Why should anyone believe he would be a better strategist as Sec. of State?

[The Twisted Genius]

Alba Etie,

I hope the rumors you heard turn out to be true and we move towards a sane and humble MENA policy. By declaring Jabhat al Nusra a terrorist organization, I think we placed a foot firmly on the brake before we stomped on the gas pedal by recognizing the Syrian Opposition Coalition. The end result is we aren't going anywhere. We'll talk a good story, but do nothing or near nothing. With 83 opposition organizations recently declaring allegiance to Jabhat al Nusra, we have even more reason not to get involved with the opposition. Now if only we can do something about Saudi and Qatari material support to a terrorist organization. I'm sure that's too much to ask for.

[Doug Tunnell]

Is there yet a complete list of who comprises the Syrian Opposition Coalition we have recognized as " sole, legitimate representative" of the Syrian people.

How long it took for the PLO to approach the parallel of that descriptive phrase !

[confusedponderer]

The most damning bit about powers IMO is from Edward Klein’s book, “The Amateur”. As reported by Klein:

"Among Obama’s foreign policy advisers, Samantha Power ... complained that the administration’s cautious, first-dono-harm, approach to the Arab Spring had effectively sidelined her in White House Councils. She said she’d been relegated to “doing rinky-dink do-gooder stuff,” such as advocating on behalf of beleaguered Christians in Iraq, and no longer had as much access to the President. She was itching to get back in the fray, and she saw an opportunity in Libya."

... just doing "rinky-dink do-gooder stuff", and sidelined, too - clearly, how frustrating must that be when compared to a real war and the thrill of that.

[Omonaija]

Clifford,

When one makes an affirmative about the competence or incompetence of someone, I hope it's grounded in fact not rumors thrice removed from the source or your instinct.

[Clifford Kiracofe]

"The buzz around former Republican senator from Nebraska — seen as a top contender to lead the Department of Defense — has Israel supporters worried. Hagel has been a frequent target for Jewish Democratic and Republican groups for more than a decade, even as he is close to Obama, having been a supporter in 2008 and an appointee to the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board.

“He was one of these worst senators in his party in memory when it comes to Israel,” said one Jewish Democratic operative. “It’s a terrible idea.”

Hagel is hardly overtly anti-Israel, but he's been less sympathetic to the Jewish State than most members of Congress in both parties. He was a critic, for instance, of Israel's assault on the Lebanese group Hezbollah in 2006, and his broader worldview — he's a "Republican realist," the political scientist and archenemy of what he calls the "Israel lobby" Stephen Walt wrote Thursday — is unsympathetic to an emotional American engagement in the Middle East.
...."

"If [Hagel] was taking a policy role, we'd have real concerns," Ira Forman, the Obama campaign’s Jewish Outreach Director and the former Executive Director of the National Jewish Democratic Council, told The Weekly Standard when Hagel was appointed to the intelligence board.

In 2007, when Hagel flirted with a presidential run, the NJDC blasted his credentials on Israel in a fact sheet, noting among other items, that in 2006 Hagel was “one of only 12 Senators who refused to write the EU asking them to declare Hezbollah a terrorist organization.”

http://www.buzzfeed.com/zekejmiller/jewish-leaders-blast-hagel-at-white-house-hannukah

"The White House’s 2010 effort to enlist Hagel drew outrage from Jewish leaders critical of Hagel’s stand on Israel. His current status as the frontrunner is no less controversial.

“It would be a very unwise and disastrous choice for U.S. policies and activities regarding the Middle East,” said Morris Amitay, a former executive director of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).

“You could probably consider him last in the class,” Amitay said when asked to rate Hagel’s views on Israel. “He’s probably the worst.”

http://freebeacon.com/the-critique-of-hagel/

[Lars]

As the old saying goes, be careful of what you wish for. Sen. McCain, et al, maintain the perception that the GOP is against people of color and women. Add to this that Sen. McCain claimed that she was unqualified. This comes from the guy who thought Sarah Palin was qualified to be POTUS, should it come to that. A vast majority disagreed with that.

As we saw in the recent political campaign, these issues no longer go away over time due to the Internet and are instantly retrievable.

On foreign policy, Susan Rice is a lot closer to John McCain than John Kerry ever will be. So, this was not over policy and that will remain evident.

[Fred]

"Rice is not competent to be SecState.." This seems to me to be the real reason Mccain and company raised such flak. Benghazi was perfect cover to end her candidacy. (At least I hope Benghazi wasn't the real reason.)