Rice’s Counselor Gives Advice Others May Not Want to Hear

[DoYouEverWonder]

October 28, 2006

For the last 18 months, Philip D. Zelikow has churned out confidential memorandums and proposals for his boss and close friend, Condoleezza Rice, that often depart sharply from the Bush administration’s current line.

One described the potential for Iraq to become a “catastrophic failure.” Another, among several that have come to light in recent weeks, was an early call for changes in a detention policy that many in the State Department believed was doing tremendous harm to the United States.

Others have proposed new diplomatic initiatives toward North Korea and the Middle East, and one went as far as to call for a reconsideration of the phrase “war on terror” because it alienated many Muslims — an idea that quickly fizzled after opposition from the White House.

Such ideas would have found a more natural home under President George H. W. Bush, for whom Mr. Zelikow and Ms. Rice worked on the staff of the National Security Council. They reflect a sense that American influence is perishable, and can be damaged by overreaching, as allies and other partners react against decisions made in Washington. They form a kind of foreign policy realism that was eclipsed in Mr. Bush’s first term, in favor of a more ideological, unilateral ethos, but that has made something of a comeback in his second term.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/28/world/28zelikow.html?_r=1&ref=world&oref=slogin

[MadMaddie]

1. We haven't seen much of Condi lately hmmmm..

wonder what that's about....is she getting ready to get sent to the back of the bus? ...........Just sayin....someone has to be sacrificed and it aint't going to be "Fuck UP Rummy"...

[Demeter]

3. More Likely Booted Off the Bus for Being Uppity

Too bad she's not smart enough to quit.

[williesgirl]

2. She doesn't listen to anyone but shrub - advice is useless with her.

[rodeodance]

4. she is basically a failure as a foreign diplomat