Tag Archives: Susan Rice

Susan Rice Will Run Foreign Policy From WH, Not State

Susan Rice, who withdrew from consideration as secretary of state after criticism over her Sunday talk show appearances right after the Benghazi terror attacks on 9/11/12 that left four Americans, including Amb. Chris Stevens, dead, is President Obama’s new national security adviser.  The job doesn’t require Senate confirmation, so Rice’s GOP enemies can’t do anything about it.  She who laughs last, laughs best.

The losers here — besides those GOP enemies — are John Kerry and the Syrian rebels.  Kerry because foreign policy will be concentrated at the White House now, giving him less power, and the rebels because Rice opposes intervention in the Syrian civil war, where the tide is turning in Assad’s favor.

Speaking of “power,” Obama is nominating Samantha Power to replace Rice at the U. N.

Powell Praises Hagel

Colin Powell is just such a class act and straight shooter.  Today on Meet the Press, he both rightly praised Chuck Hagel for DoD and criticized the Obama Administration’s poor handling of its choices so that they twist in the wind.

On the process:

“I think it was not handled well.  One of the problems, both with Ambassador [Susan] Rice and with Chuck Hagel, these sort of signals come out that, ‘This is who we are thinking about.’ And you’re left out there to dangle for weeks.  Well, if this is who you’re going to nominate, nominate them, and let’s get on with the process.”

On Hagel:

“I’m very supportive of the state of Israel.  So is Senator Hagel, and you’ll see that in the confirmation hearings, but it doesn’t mean you have to agree with every single position that the Israeli government takes.”

Prez Picks His Battles

U. N. Ambassador Susan Rice has withdrawn her name from consideration to replace Hillary as Secretary of State.  Grumpy old man John McCain effectively told Rice to get off his lawn.

So that means John Kerry.  So that means Scott Brown, the empty Barn Jacket, back in the Senate from MA.

WSJ Says CIA Watered Down Rice

The Wall Street Journal — no friend of President Obama’s — is reporting* that the CIA removed the reference to Al Qaeda in the talking points Susan Rice used on the Sunday talk shows:

“The officials said the first draft of the talking points had a reference to al Qaeda [as former CIA Director Petraeus told Congress], but it was removed by the Central Intelligence Agency, to protect sources and protect investigations, before the talking points were shared with the White House.  No evidence has so far emerged that the White House interfered to tone down the public intelligence assessment, despite the attention the charge has received.

“The 94-word intelligence summary emerged from a daylong email debate between more than two dozen intelligence officials, in which they contested and whittled the available evidence into a bland summary with no reference to al Qaeda….”

Then why have Rice do the talk shows at all?  Better to say nothing than to offer disinformation.

* “Bureaucratic Battle Blunted Libya Attack ‘Talking Points,'” Siobhan Gorman and Adam Entous

 

Getting Even Stickier for Rice

Well, that didn’t go well.

Secretary of State wannabe Susan Rice had a private, hour-long meeting with Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), a moderate, that left Collins complaining that Rice had played a “political role” in her five Sunday talk show appearances about Benghazi in the midst of the presidential election.

Collins also called Benghazi an “eerie echo” of the 1998 Al Qaeda bombings of our embassies in Tanzania and Kenya, when Rice was Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs.

We don’t need the Empty Barn Jacket back in the Senate.  But, Mr. President, there are plenty of excellent choices for State besides Rice and John Kerry.

Offer the country an accurate, coherent explanation for Benghazi before investigations do it for you, choose someone else for State, and get on with your second term.

Quotes of the Day

“We are significantly troubled by many of the answers that we got, and some that we didn’t get, concerning evidence that was overwhelming leading up to the attack on our consulate.”

Sen. John McCain after meeting about Benghazi with Ambassador Susan Rice, who was accompanied by Michael Morell, acting director of the CIA.

Senators Lindsey “Butters” Graham (R-SC) and Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) also were there, so the GOP had the gay and female demographics covered.

Butters said, “The bottom line is that I’m more disturbed than I was before.”

This meeting was supposed to smooth the way for Obama to nominate Rice as Secretary of State.  Looks as if O still has a fight on his hands.

Obama needs to address Benghazi himself.

They Don’t Get a Vote

Ninety-seven GOP House members have written to President Obama opposing his possible choice of U. N. Ambassador Susan Rice to be the next Secretary of State because of Benghazi and her now-infamous talking points.  Only the Senate gets to vote on the nomination, and so far only John McCain and Lindsey “Butters” Graham have said they would filibuster a Rice nomination.

Having chosen Sarah Palin as his Veep, I think Johnny Mac is forever barred from calling anyone “unqualified.”  He obviously didn’t recognize “unqualified” when it showed up at his ranch winking at him and flashing a little cleavage.

U. S., Libya Disagree on Benghazi Attacks

Our Ambassador to the U. N., Susan Rice, hit the Sunday talk show this morning claiming that the Benghazi attacks first on our consulate and then at a safe house were “spontaneous.”

By contrast, the Libyan President, Mohammed Magarief, claims the attacks were planned in advance “by foreigners, by people who entered the country a few months ago.”  He says the Libyan government has arrested more than 50 people so far.

I think this headline from The Australian says it all — “US in denial over embassy murders.”