From 
Del.icio.us
Digg
Reddit
Facebook
StumbleUpon
TwitThisDisarmingly Self-Assured
Think of her as the eye of the storm. Whether sparring with critics over Iraq, grappling with the egos of Cabinet secretaries or confronting hot spots like Iran and North Korea, Condoleezza Rice is unflappable. Amid all the hand-wringers, finger-pointers and second-guessers, she is disarmingly self-assured. Add to this her unwavering loyalty to the President, and it's little wonder she has become the most influential National Security Advisor in years.Dr. Rice developed her confidence the hard way -- as a child raised in segregated Birmingham, Alabama. With talent and sheer will, she rose above the prejudice around her, becoming a college professor at 26, a senior White House advisor at 34, Provost of Stanford University at 38. Today, the woman, who as a girl was once barred from "whites only" restaurants, is a close confidante of the most powerful man on earth.
Recently, Dr. Rice sat down with Reader's Digest to discuss the challenges now facing America, and what the future may hold.
RD: Where would you rank a failure in Iraq among the threats to U.S. interests and world interests?
Rice: Any failure in Iraq is a very high threat to American security and to the future of the free world. But we're not going to fail in Iraq because this President is resolute. We have the chance now, with Saddam Hussein gone, to build with the Iraqis an Iraq that is stable and prosperous, that can be a linchpin for a different kind of Middle East. It's an opportunity that can't be missed -- and won't be. There's one thing about President Bush: When he is confronted with a challenge, he doesn't say, "What a problem." He says, "What an opportunity."
I'll tell you a story about this. When our Assistant Secretary of State Jim Kelly went to North Korea and confronted them about the fact that they were pursuing nuclear weapons, in clear violation of agreements they had made with the United States government, the North Koreans essentially said, "Yes, we are. We're violating these agreements." It was a surprise to everybody, and we talked about how to meet this challenge. And the President said, "Well, there's a tremendous opportunity here." I have to tell you, everybody in the room -- Secretary Powell, Secretary Rumsfeld -- we all looked at him. What are you talking about?
And he said, "There's an opportunity here because there are a lot of countries that have a great deal at stake if North Korea makes the Korean peninsula nuclear. The Chinese have more to lose than we do. The Japanese, the South Koreans, the Russians." Before long, a strategy began to emerge to make the discussions multilateral, rather than just between the United States and North Korea, which is how the North Koreans wanted it. By convincing others they have a stake in a non-nuclear Korean peninsula, we had a chance to resolve the North Korean issue and make the resolution stick.
RD: If before the war with Iraq there had been undeniable proof that there were no weapons of mass destruction to be found, would you have nonetheless advocated military action to remove Saddam's regime?
Rice: That's hard to answer because Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction, his use of those weapons, his terrorizing of the region are of a piece. He was a triple threat in many ways.
We gave him a chance to demonstrate that he had no weapons of mass destruction. But he delayed inspections. He wouldn't allow people to be taken out of the country to be interviewed. He did everything he could to obstruct an investigation. So he was given the chance to prove exactly what you are saying -- that he had no weapons of mass destruction -- and he didn't do it.
RD: What credence would you give to reports that Saddam's own aides may have deceived him into thinking he had weapons of mass destruction, when in reality he did not? Couldn't that explain why he'd resist inspections, even if he didn't have weapons to hide?
Rice: It's an interesting theory. And I'll tell you, if I were an academic again, it might be one that I would pursue. As somebody who has to help make policy, you can't take that chance. The good thing is that, with weapons inspector David Kay, we will find the truth about what happened to his weapons of mass destruction.
I think we're going to learn that Saddam was on a massive campaign to deceive the international community about the status of his weapons programs, and that he fully intended to continue to build these programs.
RD: In your view, what would now make a list of the nations that pose the greatest threat to our national interest?
Rice: Obviously, we worry about the [nuclear] proliferation that has taken place in North Korea. We are concerned about what may be going on in Iran under cover of civilian nuclear projects that look like they're probably part of a military program. These are not just threats to the United States; these are threats to international peace and stability.
We also have to worry about weak states. What we learned with Afghanistan is that the Taliban was born of weakness, and went on to become a breeding ground and eventually a safe harbor for al Qaeda. Much of what we do is to try to strengthen the infrastructure of weak states so they can be resistant to terrorists.
Advertisement 
