III.

First Black Female as Secretary of State

Following Bush’s reelection in 2004, the president nominated Rice to replace Colin Powell as secretary of state. Despite some dogged opposition from Democratic senators accusing her of misleading the nation about the existence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, she was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in January 2005 by a vote of 85 to 13. Rice became the first black female to serve as secretary of state. She quickly established herself as one of the more visible, vocal members in the second term of Bush’s administration. In the immediate months after becoming secretary of state, she was routinely dispatched to meet with international heads of state, and she traveled extensively for visits with key foreign leaders in Europe and the Middle East. As well, she led a high-profile visit to Russian president Vladimir Putin in the spring of 2005.

With Cheney and Rumsfeld, she remained one of the staunch defenders of the nation’s ongoing war on terror at home and abroad. As questions emerged in 2005 about internal U.S. policies on that war, and on U.S. stances on torture and the interrogation of foreign detainees, Rice represented the Bush White House to the media and to international leaders. In particular, as allegations emerged that the Bush administration believed that certain tenets of the internationally agreed upon Geneva Conventions were no longer applicable in the war on terrorism, Rice began articulating U.S. policy to various concerned leaders around the world.

And when the Bush administration expressed its concerns about the domestic policies of various countries, including nuclear programs in North Korea and Iran, Rice often articulated the Bush administration position to the press, at the United Nations, and to various foreign heads of state. Her involvement in those issues served to raise her profile even higher and she continued to be one of the most recognizable, written-about members of the Bush administration. In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, Rice was one of several ranking Bush administration officials to travel to portions of the devastated regions. Some political observers said it was, in part, a way for Rice to be exposed to domestic policy concerns and for American voters to see her in person. Inside the White House, it was understood that Bush and Rice enjoyed an especially close bond and working relationship and that she was clearly one of his most trusted advisers.

From late 2005 through 2006, Rice solidified her position as the Bush administration’s visible point person on a variety of diplomatic efforts. She also weighed in on a controversial electronic surveillance program conducted by the National Security Agency and carried out without judicial warrants, arguing that the program had global importance (see Civil Rights and Civil Liberties). She traveled to Europe to allay fears among foreign leaders that the United States was veering toward an endorsement of torture and an abdication of internationally agreed upon protocols for the treatment of enemy combatants. She traveled to the Middle East to try to renew stalled peace efforts.

During 2006 Rice traveled to the Middle East, Indonesia, Australia, and Europe, tackling a wide variety of issues, from the ongoing conflicts in Iraq and along Israel’s borders, to the growing international influence of China. Along with then secretary of defense Donald Rumsfeld, she made an unannounced visit to Iraq to bolster support for the Iraqi government and to urge Iraqi leaders to do more to unify and stabilize their country.

Some observers believe Rice was instrumental in steering the Bush administration away from its steadfast resistance to negotiations with Iran. In the summer of 2006, Rice said the United States would be open to meeting with the Iranians if they called a halt to their uranium-enrichment program. Analysts suggested that Rice’s move was a window toward exploring further, deeper negotiations with Iran, and a way to begin using any influence Iran might have with Iraq’s insurgents and government. In March 2007 U.S. representatives met with Iranian representatives and diplomats from other countries neighboring Iraq, but direct U.S.-Iranian negotiations did not take place.

Elsewhere, Rice took the lead in articulating the U.S. response to ongoing nuclear weapons efforts in North Korea. Rice suggested that North Korea faced deep, international sanctions if it persisted with its nuclear weapons program. She also said in early October 2006 that the United States had no intention of invading North Korea. Observers said that Rice was trying to build international consensus for a response to North Korea while also seeking to induce North Korea to return to six-party talks. Then on October 8 North Korea announced that it had tested its first nuclear weapon. Three days later President Bush reiterated that the United States had “no intention of attacking” North Korea but called for stiff sanctions against the North and vowed to protect U.S. allies in the region. At the end of October North Korea agreed to return to the six-party talks, and in February 2007 in an apparent breakthrough North Korea pledged to dismantle its nuclear program if certain conditions were met.

Rice’s efforts to renew Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations also appeared to have some results in March 2007. After traveling between Israeli and Arab cities for talks with Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian National Authority president Mahmoud Abbas, Rice announced that she had persuaded the two sides to renew negotiations on a twice-monthly basis. She conceded, however, that she was unsuccessful in getting Israel to discuss “final status” issues leading to a two-state peace solution, and it was unclear if the agreement to talk represented a significant breakthrough. In an apparent attempt to sideline Rice, who is reportedly sympathetic to the Palestinian plight, Olmert let the media know that he had spoken personally to Bush prior to Rice’s arrival, suggesting that Rice’s role was not that important. See also Israel; Palestine, Modern.

Rice seemed to remain unscathed in early 2007 as other members of the Bush administration wrestled with various headline-dominating scandals. These included the conviction of I. Lewis Libby Jr., Dick Cheney’s chief of staff, in the Valerie Plame Wilson affair and accusations leveled at Attorney General Alberto Gonzales in the firings of eight U.S. attorneys.