Democrats attack Rice ahead of confirmation vote

A group of Senate Democrats opposing the nomination of Ms Condoleezza Rice as US secretary of state have accused her of deceiving…

A group of Senate Democrats opposing the nomination of Ms Condoleezza Rice as US secretary of state have accused her of deceiving Congress, calling her an architect of blunders in the Iraq war.

But Republicans defended Ms Rice, who is due to be ratified today as the new Secretary of State.

Massachusetts Democratic Senator Edward Kennedy called Ms Rice "a key member of the national security team that developed and justified the rationale for war, and it's been a catastrophic failure, a continuing quagmire."

Senator Mark Dayton of Minnesota said Ms Rice "misled the people of Minnesota and Americans everywhere about the situation in Iraq, before and after that war began." He added: "I really don't like being lied to repeatedly, flagrantly, intentionally."

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Ms Rice was President Bush's national security adviser during his first term of office and appears set to become the first black woman to head US foreign policy.

Republicans defended Ms Rice's record in teh Senate yesterday with Senator John Cornyn of Texas accusing Democrats of "inappropriate partisan attacks against a nominee who deserves our respect," and Senator Chuck Hagel of Nebraska proclaimed it "a nomination all of America can be proud of."

In a contentious debate yesterday that contrasted with the bipartisan embrace extended to Secretary of State Colin Powell at his confirmation four years ago, Democrats said mr Rice helped create a situation that would keep U.S. troops in Iraq for years.

Some 150,000 U.S. forces are in Iraq and the Army said on Monday at least 120,000 troops would stay for the next two years to train and fight with Iraqi forces against insurgents.