The Case for Susan Rice
Anyone who follows national security transition gossip will swiftly realize that Susan Rice has made a lot of enemies over the years. Maybe she deserves some of it. But to me, Michael O’Hanlon seems to be making a compelling case for Rice:
It is important that Senator Obama hear from centrists on Iraq, and Susan [Rice] may not be such a person on that subject. As such, given Iraq’s relative importance, it is crucial that in addition to military officers with responsibility for the operation there, at least one key member of the cabinet not be firmly wed to Senator Obama’s ill-advised proposal for a firm and rapid withdrawal schedule from Iraq over the coming 16 to 18 months.
Joking aside, at this point we’re way beyond the point of who’s wed to what or 16 months versus 18 months or whatever. What’s needed is an agreement with the Iraqi government with negotiations conducted by a US government that’s not irrationally committed to staying in Iraq as long as possible. The broad debate about timeline or no timeline has been closed by the Iraqis themselves.
41 Responses to “The Case for Susan Rice”
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November 13th, 2008 at 4:30 pm
Susan Rice for State? National Security Advisor? Something else?
November 13th, 2008 at 4:36 pm
Can we create a special advisory position for O’Hanlon, with the firm rule that the Obama administration always does the opposite of what he says?
November 13th, 2008 at 4:38 pm
The State Department folks I know are mortified at the possibility of Rice becoming Secretary. Everything else on the table seemed workable to them but, personality-wise, they absolutely dread having her as a boss.
November 13th, 2008 at 4:44 pm
Let’s hope the “good Rice” will join Obama, and that O’Hanlon will join the Army.
November 13th, 2008 at 4:45 pm
Matt, this is very unfair to O’Hanlon. The whole point of his post is that Susan should get something senior. That paragraph is the one caveat, the “even though I disagree with her on this I still think she should….etc.) Strikes me that you’re engaging in exactly the sort of behavior that you usually condemn
November 13th, 2008 at 4:52 pm
Wow, can O’Hanlon be a bigger dick?
November 13th, 2008 at 5:09 pm
At this point, it is theoretically impossible to be unfair to O’Hanlon simply by using words.
November 13th, 2008 at 5:13 pm
Does he really think that Obama will not have heard every feasible argument for maintaining the war in Iraq? Though they will need to be modified. If we decide to stay more than 20 months or so, it will once again become the war against Iraq.
November 13th, 2008 at 5:13 pm
Well, I agree with O’Hanlon that Obama needs centrists in his cabinet, which is exactly why he shouldn’t waste such a slot on some idiot who hasn’t noticed that the voters (both here and in Iraq) want a rapid US withdrawal.
November 13th, 2008 at 5:42 pm
Obama will have enough quasi-neo-cons in his cabinet without throwing in Susan Rice.
http://www.sunstateactivist.org/ssablog/
November 13th, 2008 at 6:25 pm
Why, exactly, is O’Hanlon’s case compelling?
November 13th, 2008 at 7:25 pm
Susan’s Wikipedia article doesn’t paint a good picture of her office political skills.
And, to assume that male African leaders would just have to suck it up and deal with whoever the US sent sounds just like what we were whining about Bush for in a previous blog item.
However, I don’t know if African leaders, particular non-Islamic-fundis, are *that* uncomfortable dealing with a woman. Might ask a friend at State who was stationed in Niamey.
November 13th, 2008 at 8:01 pm
What we need on our Iraq policy team is a bunch of screaming jackasses who say nothing but “THE SURGE IS WORKING”. That’ll help.
November 13th, 2008 at 8:26 pm
“It’s clear that Iraq poses a major threat. It’s clear that its weapons of mass destruction need to be dealt with forcefully, and that’s the path we’re on. I think the question becomes whether we can keep the diplomatic balls in the air and not drop any, even as we move forward, as we must, on the military side.” (Susan Rice. NPR, Dec. 20, 2002)
Etc.
She’s been stumping for bombing Sudan for the past five years, with not particularly convincing arguments but with great zeal. I thought we were supposed to get some cooler heads and better judgement than that.
November 13th, 2008 at 9:11 pm
should read “aren’t any jobs at NSC”.
November 13th, 2008 at 9:11 pm
When I sit around and try and fill the spaces at SecDef I keep seeing her pop up as Assistant Secretary for African Affairs.
There any jobs at NSC. You are the National Security Advisor or you are basically nothing. Maybe Susan Rice as Policy Analyst at NSC. I can think of about six other people she’d have worm out that would be far more natural picks for that.
November 13th, 2008 at 9:24 pm
SecDef should have been SecState, to. I just need to stop.
November 13th, 2008 at 10:24 pm
Interesting how O’Hanlon doesn’t offer a peep of support for his former boss and Susan Rice’s rival for NSA–Jim Steinberg.
O’Hanlon has co-authored stuff with Jim…worked under him for years at Brookings, too. Rather than support conventional wisdom and support the NSA-apparent, O’Hanlon goes off on a flyer for a long-shot…quite un-O’Hanlon-like.
November 13th, 2008 at 10:43 pm
“Centrists on Iraq”: the mind reels.
November 13th, 2008 at 11:15 pm
Interesting how O’Hanlon doesn’t offer a peep of support for his former boss and Susan Rice’s rival for NSA–Jim Steinberg.
I hate saying it but Dennis Ross wants that job and if he doesn’t get it Steinberg is nowhere in the running.
November 13th, 2008 at 11:38 pm
Somebody needs to develop a “smart bomb” that will selectively wipe out every last man and woman in our sorry-ass imperialist foreign policy and defense “elites”. Then maybe we can start over and develop rational policies from rational premises.
November 13th, 2008 at 11:38 pm
How about bringing back some of those characters who were ditched in the primary? Samantha Goolsbee for Treasury, Austin Powers for National Security Advisor.
November 14th, 2008 at 2:29 am
Susan Rice would be a great pick for Secretary of State, instead Obama is looking to pick Hillary Clinton who sounds like Joe Lieberman when it comes to foreign policy.
November 14th, 2008 at 7:39 am
Michael O’Hanlon is also the same guy that has found Iraq to be going swimmingly well, despite the fact that the guy running the country is consolidating his power base and happens to be a BFF of the current Iranian regime.
Susan Rice is myopic. She doesn’t understand the bigger picture. And when you have Wilsonians like Michael O’Hanlon supporting her, I think that’s a signal enough that she’s not right for the job.
O’Hanlon picked the wrong horse, don’t let him weasel his way in through one of his best friends. Rice can take a lesser position, maybe Paula Dobriansky’s position at Public Diplomacy.
November 22nd, 2008 at 10:43 pm
Paula Dobriansky is not Public Diplomacy, she’s Global Affairs.
I wonder where Tony Lake fits in with all of this. I’m not hearing a peep about him these days.
January 23rd, 2009 at 4:59 pm
Let me get this straight. Susan Rice has made a lot of enemies over the years, is said to be partly responsible for the US’s disastrous handling of the Rwandan genocide, is alleged to be partly responsible for missing an opportunity to neutralize Bin Laden and yet she is the nominee for US ambassador to the UN??? Sounds like a plan!
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