US: Dr Condoleezza Rice is a popular figure in Washington, respected and admired for the way she rose from a modest background in segregated Alabama to become close adviser to the president of the United States.
She is certain to be confirmed as US Secretary of State - that became clear yesterday when several Democrats at her nomination hearing yesterday said they would vote for her. But that didn't prevent a number from beating up on her over Iraq, especially Senator Barbara Boxer.
Almost trembling with indignation, the California Democrat practically accused Dr Rice of being a liar for making alarmist pre-war statements about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction to justify the March 2003 invasion.
"I personally believe that your loyalty to the mission and the president overwhelmed your respect for the truth," she said glaring down at the diminutive national security adviser dressed in black with matching pearl necklace and earrings. Dr Rice, her face a study in controlled anger, replied icily "I hope we can discuss this without you impugning my integrity or credibility."
Ms Boxer went in for the kill from the start, quoting Martin Luther King at the African American nominee that "people lose hope when we become silent on things that matter." "Iraq mattered," the senator said. "You didn't mention the 1,366 dead [ soldiers]". She had said nothing in her opening remarks about the tsunami disaster except that it was "a wonderful opportunity for us".
Using large placards highlighting quotations, Senator Boxer challenged the veracity of the nominee in several statements as Mr Bush's national security adviser for the last four years. Dr Rice had twice said on television that no one in the administration had ever said there was a danger of Saddam Hussein developing a nuclear weapon "within a year" the California senator said, but Mr Bush had stated nine months before the war "Iraq could have a nuclear weapon next year," and Dr Rice herself had repeated this. There was a "disturbing pattern" of misleading America said Ms Boxer, citing other statements made by Dr Rice about mushroom clouds, aluminium tubes and al-Qaeda's links with Iraq.
The incoming Secretary of State kept her cool, saying they went to war because Saddam Hussein was a danger to the world and there was "an unbreakable link" between him and weapons of mass destruction and adding sharply: "I really hope you will refrain from impugning my integrity (and) you will not imply I take the truth lightly." Dr Rice also came under fire from Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry, making his first appearance since his defeat in November by Mr Bush (several Republicans said to laughter they were delighted to welcome him back). He picked up on a comment by Dr Rice that the Bush administration could not have foreseen that Saddam Hussein's army would just "melt away" and then emerge to fight an insurrection. "We encouraged them to do just that, with leaflets and broadcasts" said Senator Kerry, recalling pre-war messages to Iraqi troops to lay down their arms. "We said we would pay them," he went on. "We went back on that promise and they got angry and they got organised." Now "we've got kids who are dying there on questionable missions." The people fighting Americans were not angry because they did not get paid, Dr Rice retorted. They were Saddam loyalists who wanted to cling to power.
Senator Joe Biden also took Dr Rice to task over her assertion, in response to his questioning, that Iraq had 120,000 forces trained to defend the emerging democracy. He had been to Iraq several times, the Democratic senator said, and the actual number prepared to fight and kill alongside US troops was no more than 4,000, and it was time to level with the American people. "Despite our great military might," he went on, "we are, in my view, more alone in the world than we have been in anytime in recent memory and the time for diplomacy is long overdue. America is much more secure working with and reaching out to others than it is walking alone. And I believe the heart of your mission must be to help rebuild America's power to persuade and to restore our nation to the respect it once enjoyed, quite frankly, for our own safety's sake."
The Republican chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Richard Lugar, also implied the need for a new diplomatic approach. "We've seen the expansion of a nihilistic form of terrorism," he said. "We've seen frequent expressions of virulent anti-Americanism in many parts of the Islamic world. We have seen our alliances, our international standing and our budget strained by hard choices we've had to make in response to terrorism. In this context, many diplomatic tasks must be approached with urgency." Dr Rice responded that "the work that America and our allies have undertaken, and the sacrifices we have made, have been difficult and necessary and right. Now is the time to build on these achievements to make the world safer, and to make the world more free. We must use American diplomacy to help create a balance of power in the world that favours freedom. And the time for diplomacy is now." She said the training of Iraqi security forces was the most important task for the US. "The task of the Iraqis is to find a way forward from their elections for political reconciliation. And we can, of course, try to help in that and do what we can to support that effort. But that's largely an Iraqi task." Senators are expected to confirm Dr Rice as Secretary of State in a vote tomorrow.