Rice still struggling for success after two years as top US diplomat

[CatWoman]

WASHINGTON (AFP) -
Condoleezza Rice wraps up her first two years as secretary of state with few diplomatic successes to show for her efforts and fewer signs she plans to change course to improve the record.

And yet, as Rice heads into 2007, the 52-year-old former academic should be at the top of her game for the last two years of President George W. Bush's administration.

She has seen off her longtime rival for Bush's ear, former defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

And the Bush administration is under pressure from all sides to use more diplomacy and less bluster in its foreign policy, a shift which should place Rice at the epicenter of decision-making.

But since she took over as America's top diplomat on January 26, 2005 with an agenda to promote freedom and democracy around the globe, Rice has been shadowed by the failure of that plan on its biggest stage: Iraq.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20061229/pl_afp/usdiplomacyrice_061229004110

[Bushies gotta go]

1. Yeah, Condi, it's all down the crapper from here. Go shoe shopping. n/t

[Avalux]

2. Um.....maybe because she's an incompetent liar??

Just a thought. :eyes:

[hatrack]

34. Yeah, I was going to say "struggling to avoid embarassment"

:eyes: indeed!

[ihelpu2see]

37. Ditto! nt

[Olney Blue]

3. Neo-condi at the top of her game? She's at the bottom of the heap

of this failed administration.

[illinoisprogressive]

4. Did you see her in that news clip today with Bushco

Why did she looked so pissed off and uncomfortable??? Is she realizing that wonderful Jr. is really an idiot after all this time????

[tanyev]

14. Guess she's not gellin'

[jaysunb]

5. My only question is....

Why do people think this poor thing is capable of ANYTHING ? What has she EVER done in her life to make people believe she has a brain in her head ?

oh... :hi: Happy Holidays !

[Amonester]

44. She's (?) a good liar (for the morans who believe her crap).

That's all she ever did.

[BattyDem]

6. So I guess other countries don't like dealing with arrogant liars

I'm shocked. :eyes:

[EST]

7. Ms. Rice is a text-book perfect example of the Peter Principle.

She is in good company-an incompetent among incompetents.

[BrotherBuzz]

12. Condoliesa Rice is the poster girl for the Reich

She is a powerful icon. In substance her persona is completely impotent, delivering the PR message designed by her corporatist puppet masters.

Having a female afro-American Secretary of State for a fascist junta imposed by sequential coups is the ultimate hypocrisy. She is the perfect disguise. How does one address a walking, talking, living, breathing lie? She is an animated programed Potemkin village for a society and foreign policy based upon brutal force, inequity, racism, and class warfare.

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

18. Well said, sir.

She is the equivalent of a Polish Jew as one of Hitler's top cabinet members.

Her disconnect from the horror of Katrina's impact still stuns me. And, how can one even begin to argue the impact of her obvious discounting of those who share her heritage? It can't be done. MKJ

[tabasco]

59. Yayah Bro!

Well-stated truths.

Interesting times. I am wondering just how far the junta will go as it loses the grasp of the nominal government.

They will attempt to create a state of chaos, even worse than it is now, for their Democratic successors.

More money will be thrown at Dems too. Afterall, that's their main weapon, money. Let's see which ones take the bribes and continue to support the oil grab in Iraq.

[Erika]

8. She was shoe shopping while N.O. residents were drowning

Haven't been able to consider her as a human being since.

[rocktivity]

9. If she's still struggling for success, how can she be CONSIDERED

a top diplomat? Doesn't that defeat the purpose writing this story?

Careful Condi--this article may be your first step out the door!

:crazy:
rocknation

[sutz12]

27. Top means highest ranking, not "best".... nt

[rocktivity]

30. Then I'll rephrase the question, your honor

If she's the highest-ranking diplomat, why ISN'T she a success? Doesn't THAT defeat the purpose writing this story?

:evilgrin:
rocknation

[opihimoimoi]

10. Condi and her Team have FAILED US....its all been losses...no wins...

Photo op Queen...?

Part of Bushies machine...?

Get the Hook already...get this Thing outta there...and her boss too...

[stevedeshazer]

11. The following is a list of her accomplishments as Secretary of State.

Please feel free to add to this impressive portfolio:

[jaysunb]

13. Hey! You forgot the text ...

:rofl:

[stevedeshazer]

15. You have to look very closely

Here is a microscopic view:

[LiberalFighter]

51. What did she accomplish at Stanford?

[calimary]

54. She did get to see "Spamalot."

Every now and then she shellacks her hair differently.

And we DO get some nice pictures of bush leering at her, periodically. Sometimes even with laura in the same shot!

And let's all salute that cute little way she has of insisting great strides are being taken and great progress is being made, while shaking her head side-to-side in a subconscious negative.

She's just pathetic. Thank God we have Madeleine Albright to fall back on, as an example of a female Secretary of State. If all we had was contradicta's example, we wouldn't have much of a role model to point to. She's accomplished precisely NOTHING. At least the MSM is writing about her like this. That's the record she'll have left behind.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

16. former ACADEMIC? how about pandemic, or pathogenic, or,

so many choices, so little time.

The only reason that Iraq looks bad is because the MSM has been hiding any reporting of her numerous other policy failures and disasters.

[madrchsod]

17. she only can say and do what her masters tell her to do

does anyone think she can do otherwise? it really amazes me how people can write these kinds of articles and get paid for them...dam i should have majored in journalism instead of history..

[billbuckhead]

19. She's simultaneously running for president and breaking up "W's marriage

Condi's quite the multitasker

[rusty charly]

20. she's just learning that

"askin' ain't gettin'..."

[CatWoman]

43. does she know anything about birthing babies?

:)

[SoCalDem]

21. So many shoes..so little time

:)

[La_Fourmi_Rouge]

22. I have NOT seen any signs of a "struggle".

She did not struggle in her job as NSA.
She has not struggled in her current position.

Just going through the motions every day...

[pinniped]

23. These inept fvks couldn't even promote lemonade from a lemonade stand.

an agenda to promote freedom and democracy around the globe

[truthisfreedom]

24. The bush administration was only a spigot driven into the US Treasury to dump it into the hands of

their cronies so they could all collect it later. A mafia, nothing more. They just pretend to be doing things. Look busy.

[calimary]

25. She is in so far over her head she will NEVER see the surface.

I STILL don't understand what all the fuss is about. And I've watched her in "action" (well... what "action" we're privvy to... :evilgrin: ) for six years, and I still don't get it. Surely one of the MOST overrated female executives EVER. AND, boy are we getting our money's worth - she's an expert in a political system that no longer exists! WOW! Aren't we all well-served!?! I'm whelmed. :eyes:

I've never seen such mediocre performance so well-rewarded, so "highly" regarded, and so apparently bullet-proof. I've seen heads roll at radio stations straight from the top, for FAR more competence than she'll EVER be able to exhibit, and for far fewer fuck-ups. Guess this crap about the benefits of running the government like a business don't exactly hold true when you're the dictator's - um - "confidante." No wonder Laura has such a sour, pinched look on her face all the time.

[closeupready]

36. Totally agree.

Her calculating bureacratic way of thinking rubs me the wrong way. Symptomatic of that was her recent statement before Christmas that the money and lives lost in Iraq were "worth the investment" - as if she sat down, crunched some numbers on a spreadsheet, like an actuary, and the cost/benefit indicated a "net positive". :mad:

[calimary]

50. Well, why wouldn't she run a cost/benefit analysis of how much

blood it will be okay to shed in Iraq for the sake of more oil. She comes from big oil, anyway.

I CANNOT believe how relatively well-regarded she is by so much of the American public. Doesn't say the greatest things about the public - OR her.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

63. what you said. just far more eloquently than I could.

she is a shallow, insiginificant put-up job. She is the poster child of this administration. They have consistently done spin and PR, rather than results and effort.
She was chosen to play her role long before shrub was erected as president.

[Eurobabe]

26. Her pinnacle of success was having a tanker named for her

It's all downhill from there. I can't think of ONE INTELLIGENT THING THIS woman has said in her 6 years with the Gang Who Couldn't Shoot Straight.

[cap]

29. she got that tanker by approving the use of armed helicopters

on African protesters in the Niger Delta who were protesting exploitation by the oil companies. The powers that be wanted a black face to OK the slaughter.

[SquireJons]

32. How's this?

The oil tanker was named after her in the 90's. When she became part of the bush team, they changed the name of the tanker. So, she would not have been in a position of authority at the time before or during the time that the tanker was named after her. Now, I have no doubt that she would approve the use of deadly force on protesters of any sort, but it didn't have anything to do with the naming of the tanker, unless it happened under Reagan/Bush Sr. admins. But she shouldn't have had the authority to approve such things as an assistant to the undersecretary, which was her title at the time.

The reality is that she's no more than window dressing and always has been. As a matter of fact, she IS a has been.

[cap]

52. she was on the board of directors of the oil company that owned

those helicopters or subcontracted out for mercenary services. The suppression of the revolt in the Niger Delta was greatly assisted by private armed helicopters. They had Condi approve it explicitly in order to give them a politically correct racial cover.

[Eurobabe]

33. That is sick. I have no respect whatsoever for this woman

I think she is just another BushCo lackey, has been from Day 1.

[NewJeffCT]

28. It was only a few years ago Condi was put in charge of Iraq...

Remember, Bush said it was a sticky situation over there in Iraq and Condi was his "unsticker" - how did that turn out now?

[tridim]

38. Didn't Bush refer to himself as an "unsticker" too?

I used to have the sound clip, but it's probably long gone.

[BuelahWitch]

62. Unfortunately we got "stuck" with both of them!

:cry:

[ChairmanAgnostic]

39. she musta done good, I mean, she's got promoted, right?

Remember, she took control several months AFTER Paul Bremer's ideas and failures came to light. Then, she was reappointed to lead Iraq a second time AFTER being promoted to SexState.


aren't we lucky to have her in charge.

[Supersedeas]

40. Hecka ofa Job -- carrying a title and all

[calimary]

41. Yes indeed. She won a much-publicized and tittered about tug-of-war

with rummy over the responsibilities of "coordinator of post-war Iraq." Looks like she did as much of a bang-up job there as rove did, in charge of the reconstruction of New Orleans. Bunch of FINE, FINE public servants there, aren't they. Only thing they seem any good at doing is making excuses, destroying people's reputations, and nonstop campaigning. Those don't make for much actual good governance.

[underpants]

42. All of this follows her 'historic' time as the National Security Adviser

[NewJeffCT]

46. I'm sure you know

9/11 was all Clinton's fault. Nobody could have conceived that they would use airplanes as weapons. And, Clinton should have had Sandy Berger call up Condi and tell her the flights and seat numbers for each of the terrorists. But, he was too busy killing Vince Foster, cheating taxpayers in the Whitewater deal and raping Monica Lewinsky, Paula Jones and others to do that.

[BushOut06]

31. What do you expect from a token minority post?

IMHO, the only reason why Bush ever picked Powell and Rice is so they could show everyone how "diversified" he was. There were people who were far more experienced than Condiliar Rice, and it's well known that Powell never got along with Bush and the rest of that cabal. Condaliar Rice was in way over head from the minute she was named to the NSA.

As far as my "token" comment, I stand by it. You know how racists will always say "I have a couple of black friends"? How often do you hear some right-winger use people like Clarence Thomas and Condaliar Rice as "proof" that the GOP is diverse?

[Politicub]

35. Another miserable failure from this administration

Is anyone really surprised that Condi is as lackluster as the rest of them?

[judaspriestess]

45. She is a "Buena pa Nada"

good for nothing!!

[jwirr]

47. She will continue to lose as long as she is riding on *sses sand

wagon.

[Rex]

48. Rice is such a good

food, I can't believe it still struggles for success! :crazy:

[Cass]

49. She is a failure in her position and should be replaced.

Maybe if a competent go-getter was put in there as SOS things might improve but I have no hope whatsoever that Bush will do the right thing and can her.

[calimary]

53. Unfortunately, ANY Secretary of State from the bush administration

would be as ineffective as she is, at least for the time being. It's gonna take COMPLETELY NEW management for anyone in other nations to take anything or anyone seriously coming from our State Department. I doubt it would matter if bush had a resurrected Mother Teresa or JP2 representing him around the world. If he or she is operating under bush's banner, then failure is preordained. Although contradicta's staggering incompetence certainly is unparalleled.

MAN. Never have I heard the term "in over (his/her) head" applied to ANY human being more frequently than I've heard it used to describe her.

[ckramer]

55. You are entirely correct

Colin Powell also picked the wrong master.

[leftofthedial]

56. what a waste of skin

ignorant, incompetent, lying RW skidmark.

[karlrschneider]

57. "few" successes??? I can't think of ONE...except maybe giving Chimp a toilet pass

that one time...
:eyes:

[Solly Mack]

58. Fuck Rice

Fuck'em all.

[LibDemAlways]

60. Kinda Sleazy is no diplomat.

An effective Secretary of State has the ear of world leaders and is a good listener. As the chimp's representative, Rice is merely scorned and derided. We won't have a legitimate diplomatic presence in the world until a Dem administration takes over.

[lanlady]

61. Rice would have made a half-way decent --

-- Asst Prof. at Stamford. Instead, she rose far above her natural abilities thanks to her true talent, sycophancy.

When Rice stood back and happily let Israel bomb the crap out of Lebanon this summer, she was absolutely finished. She no longer commands a scrap of respect in the world.