Tasks Ahead for Condoleezza Rice
By Mahjabeen Agha

"I WANT the American people to know the story of what we did before 9-11 and what we're continuing to do now." Condoleezza Rice before the Independent commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks on April 8, 2004 in Washington

After re-gaining favorable outcome in most powerful vis-à-vis controversial presidential office of the United States, it was preconceived notion that President Bush might opt for changes in re-elected cabinet with confident and pre-tested loyal personae. Well to practice identical political phenomenon changes in cabinet members is not unusual. May be this is one of the reason why Condoleezza Rice was elevated from National Security advisor to the Secretary of State and a successor of Colin Powell.

Being a first black female secretary of state, Ms. Rice possesses a waste experience of successful administrating tasks in President Bush’s previous tenure. "The secretary of state is America's face to the world and in Dr Rice the world will see the strength, grace and decency of our country," said Mr. Bush while showing immense trust bestowed on Dr. Rice.

Diplomatically speaking Ms. Rice shares the same views and opinions as Mr. Bush regarding national vis-à-vis foreign policies in lieu of increased terrorism inland and aboard America.

However peace initiation may turn in to more positive node in Ms. Condoleezza’s period of office due to her expertise in Russian affairs, but after Yasser Arafat’s untimely retirement from life the prime focus of foreign policy in the second term of Mr. Bush should be the deliberate peaceful cum positive negotiation of Middle East.

It seems yesterday’s story when amid immense pressure from with in American and the Muslim world in particular to address those issues that lead the disaster of Sept. 11 2001’s terrorist attacks in America and later the invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq, National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice also known as Mr. Bush's right-hand person faced the Independent commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks on Thursday, April 8, 2004 in Washington.

In legal terminology, Ms. Rice testimony was about the question of responsibility, communication, connection and the line of duty between FBI, CIA and National Security Advisor, somehow quite complex to determine. As in vox populi, the entire scenario of Ms. Rice’s testimony depicts a high level of mismanagement or mishandled info at top-notch level from FBI, National Security Adviser to CIA. All were either absolutely unaware or fully capable to judge the upcoming events of Sept 11 but confused to handle the situation.

While trying her utmost efforts not to mishandle the sharp questions asked by the commission’s panel regarding pre and post Sept 11 attacks exposed via constant threats directly linked to American foreign policy, Ms. Rice fully justified the administrative war policy and her own reputation in such a maneuverable way that it was hard to deliver the real side of coin i.e. her liability over trusted position in case of 9/11 attacks.

Condoleezza author of Uncertain Allegiance & The Soviet Union and the Czechoslovak Army," 1984, while expressing her viewpoint regarding future attacks in America stated that "I've asked myself a thousand times what more we could have done. If we knew that an attack was coming on Washington or New York, we would have moved heaven and earth to try to stop it."

However, whether she failed, succeeded, tried to cover up, address or focus on relevant issues like Al-Qaeda’s warning posed in the weeks before the Sept. 11, 2001 and the significant role of CIA analyst’s perception is quite diversified.

From broader perspective, Ms. Rice baffled response indicates her wide ignorance over many sensitive issues involved in Sept 11 attacks particularly the flaws in domestic intelligence gathering. Somehow Ms. Rice defended White House terrorism policy prior to Sept. 11, justifying her own position directly or indirectly that Al-Qaeda was a top administration priority but "there was no silver bullet that could have prevented the 9/11 attacks."

Throughout her testimony Ms. Rice was of the opinion that it was Bureaucratic stumbling blocks including decade long flawed foreign policy or legal restrictions for slowing response to terrorism. Therefore Ms. Rice recent appointment as a Secretary of State is a practical provision where she might or definitely try to remove all the barriers that had split the world in to two identified polar, if at one side there’s America with its totalitarian political philosophy then on the other side is of against America and its allied nations. And to identify the other side’s legal, judicious and humanitarian demands should be the great concern for the Secretary of State to evaluate.

Basically it is a dilemma of American foreign policy to possess greater leniency towards its allied nations whether they are persuading the right path or jeopardizing the peaceful coexistence of the other independent states, American blind devotion to Israel and India with less inspection or absolutely no fear of invasion is the crucial controversy between American plenipotentiaries and the politically deprived people of Asia and the Middle East, and that’s the main reason why America is having greater insecurity even after possessing greater military cum political sovereignty.

One must not ignore the reality that America is an existing nation of the world, the damage faced by America in terms of internal security is duly bound with the universal security as it is a universally accepted philosophy that security threats of one nation makes other nations insecure, as world had witnessed this strange phenomenon in case of Afghanistan, Iraq, Palestine, Chechnya and many other nations deprived of their fundamental rights.

It is a matter of a great concern that American policy makers whether on diplomatic front never realized that the biggest threat America is ever possessing to its internal security or in strategic mechanism is it’s own foreign policy towards the Saudi Arabia, Gulf region & Middle East particularly Israel Palestine conflict where American leniency towards its allies is making his protagonist character conventionally biased further raising insecurity to the regional economic, liberally political and socio-territorial development. As bin laden already set forth that the hostility against Muslims in general and Palestinian-Israeli conflict in particular was one of the reasons for 9/11.

Looking at American foreign policy, It seems what Francis Vincent depicted years ago was right to some extent i.e. “The United States is a nation of laws; badly written and randomly enforced.” As long as nepotism cum unnecessary devotion is widely exercised in US foreign policy security imbroglio will remain as prima facie before US political arena.

Although Condoleezza Rice, the most powerful women in the world and better known as “Bush’s secret weapon,” is a tested trusted and devoted fellow in Bush administration, may evaluate but not regulate the conventional flaws excessively exercised in foreign affairs.

The million dollar question is why the world’s developed economy unable to develop their unbiased geo-political yet terra incognita perception while addressing the core issues of expanded terrorism rather than employing huge finances to establish internal security measure?

In lieu of fractured foreign policy, there’s a high level of growing discomfort security scenario in America that led the labyrinth for the Bush administration to constantly fight with, besides being ignorant of humanitarian hostility of its allied forces US may be able to continue the existing foreign policy but would fail to manage the internal political, economic and security affairs ad infinitum, amid growing threats of Al-Qaeda’s attack.

Whether France, Germany and Russia would be ignored and befriended with US is entirely relied on the new Secretary of State, as they were previously scorned by Ms. Rice due to failed support of Bush’s invasion of Iraq. Now, however, she must realize that in the absence of international support Washington cannot combat with the terrorism all alone.

To keep the modus operandi of War against terrorism alive, none of the old allies, small independent nations and Islamic states should be ignored, as without their support terrorism may not be eliminated from grass root level.

One thing is quite certain that there’s no vacuum left in US foreign policy that could be filled up by the trial and error based philosophies. The case of September 11 is an eye opening phenomenon for US policy makers including Ms. Rice with an internationalist approach to be more prudent and less antagonistic while formulating future foreign policy.

To address the core issues of security not just of America but of the entire world, the immediate solution for the independent state of Palestine, liberation of Iraq from the allied cum enforced forces, dedication of the absolute authority to Afghanistan, the nuclear case of Iran are the fundamental tasks for Ms. Condoleezza Rice to resolve on immediate basis.

With the promotion as Secretary of State, it is high time for Condoleezza Rice not just to highlight the already well known errors & obligations of the US foreign policy particularly the provisions involved in elevating terrorism but initiate activate or rather promote what is in favor of terror-free peaceful social scenario across the world.

Hence, the major concerns of America should be well prepared, well adopted as well as well executable comprehensive strategy and of course the flexible, judicious and un-biased diplomatic ties with all the nations irrespective of their economic, geo-political and regional importance.●

Ms Mahjabeen Agha is professionally an economist, political analyst computer programmer & freelance journalist residing in Karachi.

© 2004 Mahjabeen Agha