Rice admits multiple Iraq errors
Rice admits multiple Iraq errors US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has admitted the US has made thousands of tactical errors in Iraq, but said it was right to remove Saddam Hussein.
"This could have gone that way, or that could have gone this way," said Ms Rice, adding that the US-led invasion was "the right strategic decision".
Ms Rice's comments came after she delivered a major foreign policy speech in Blackburn during her tour of the UK.
Her visit has sparked anti-war protests in the north-western town.
While democracy may take time, it's always worth it - it's going to take time in IraqCondoleezza RiceUS Secretary of State
"I know we've made tactical errors - thousands of them, I'm sure," Ms Rice said in a session of questions after her speech, organised by BBC Radio 4's Today programme and Chatham House international affairs institution.
"But when you look back in history, what will be judged is did you make the right strategic decisions," she said.
"I believe strongly that it was the right strategic decision, that Saddam (Hussein) had been a threat to the international community long enough," Ms Rice added.
During her speech Ms Rice touched on a number of key issues of US foreign policy, saying that:
* no-one should doubt America's commitment to justice and the rule of law
* the US had no desire "to be the world's jailer", and that Washington wanted "the terrorists that we capture to stand trial"
# the cause of advancing freedom was the greatest hope for peace today
# the use of force "is not what is on the agenda now" in the stand-off over Iran's nuclear programme - adding that President Bush "never takes any option off the table"
# the US and Britain should continue to have "extremely close" relations and be united in the fight against terrorism
The speech was delivered on the first day of Ms Rice's two-day visit to the north-west of England.
Some 150 people had gathered in Blackburn to protest against Ms Rice's presence.
Many shouted "Condoleezza Rice go home" as she entered a local school.
A planned visit to a mosque in the town was scrapped because of fears of protests in the building.
Ms Rice is the guest of the British Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw, who represents Blackburn in the House of Commons.
Ms Rice has now gone on to Liverpool.
Story from BBC NEWS:
It is utter hypocrisy for Dr. Rice to go to a foreign country to proclaim the United States a nation of laws while at home she represents a putative leader whose power rests on a stolen election and who claims some mythic constitutional authority to violate any law that doesn't suit him.
It is utter hypocrisy for Dr. Rice to say that we will not tolerate torture when the White House memos told this same tyrant that he has the authority to authorize torture and he proceeded to do so.
It is utter hypocrisy for Dr. Rice to go abroad and talk of freedom while the Patriot Act erodes civil liberties in America.
It is utter hypocrisy for Dr. Rice to claim that America does not want to be the worlds when, in addition to torturing detainees, it puts them before kangaroo courts with no right to see the evidence against them.
It is a sad sign of how far America has fallen that Dr. Rice, who was one of many high-ranking officials in the Bush regime to willfully lie to the American people about Saddam's military capabilities in order to garner popular and congressional support for an unnecessary colonial war, should be so smug talking about somebody else's commission of war crimes.
"This could have gone that way, or that could have gone this way," said Ms Rice, adding that the US-led invasion was "the right strategic decision".
Ms Rice's comments came after she delivered a major foreign policy speech in Blackburn during her tour of the UK.
Her visit has sparked anti-war protests in the north-western town.
While democracy may take time, it's always worth it - it's going to take time in IraqCondoleezza RiceUS Secretary of State
"I know we've made tactical errors - thousands of them, I'm sure," Ms Rice said in a session of questions after her speech, organised by BBC Radio 4's Today programme and Chatham House international affairs institution.
"But when you look back in history, what will be judged is did you make the right strategic decisions," she said.
"I believe strongly that it was the right strategic decision, that Saddam (Hussein) had been a threat to the international community long enough," Ms Rice added.
During her speech Ms Rice touched on a number of key issues of US foreign policy, saying that:
* no-one should doubt America's commitment to justice and the rule of law
* the US had no desire "to be the world's jailer", and that Washington wanted "the terrorists that we capture to stand trial"
# the cause of advancing freedom was the greatest hope for peace today
# the use of force "is not what is on the agenda now" in the stand-off over Iran's nuclear programme - adding that President Bush "never takes any option off the table"
# the US and Britain should continue to have "extremely close" relations and be united in the fight against terrorism
The speech was delivered on the first day of Ms Rice's two-day visit to the north-west of England.
Some 150 people had gathered in Blackburn to protest against Ms Rice's presence.
Many shouted "Condoleezza Rice go home" as she entered a local school.
A planned visit to a mosque in the town was scrapped because of fears of protests in the building.
Ms Rice is the guest of the British Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw, who represents Blackburn in the House of Commons.
Ms Rice has now gone on to Liverpool.
Story from BBC NEWS:
It is utter hypocrisy for Dr. Rice to go to a foreign country to proclaim the United States a nation of laws while at home she represents a putative leader whose power rests on a stolen election and who claims some mythic constitutional authority to violate any law that doesn't suit him.
It is utter hypocrisy for Dr. Rice to say that we will not tolerate torture when the White House memos told this same tyrant that he has the authority to authorize torture and he proceeded to do so.
It is utter hypocrisy for Dr. Rice to go abroad and talk of freedom while the Patriot Act erodes civil liberties in America.
It is utter hypocrisy for Dr. Rice to claim that America does not want to be the worlds when, in addition to torturing detainees, it puts them before kangaroo courts with no right to see the evidence against them.
It is a sad sign of how far America has fallen that Dr. Rice, who was one of many high-ranking officials in the Bush regime to willfully lie to the American people about Saddam's military capabilities in order to garner popular and congressional support for an unnecessary colonial war, should be so smug talking about somebody else's commission of war crimes.
posted by Name Held by Request | 9:54 PM
3 Comments:
In other news, Rice denies sky is blue.
That's how "Sleazy" and "El Stupido" do it:
They simply announce that "the American people want blah, blah, blah;" or
"The American people like blah, blah, blah."
It's a pretty neat trick if you can get away with it.
Must not work in Europe.
Europeans must be smarter than we are or
maybe they have a competent, not totally sold-out press corps.
I recently read in Nation Magazine that as of 1\1\05, 7500 Americans died in rout to or at hospitals in Germany.
You should research this and add this shocking stat to your web sight.
Also I find it frightening that people don't care about the shocking number of Iraqi civilian deaths.
You seem to hardly ever mention them, they are people too, they have families and children and
lives very similar to Americans. I think it is worth mentioning.
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