Word: rice
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...Britain's Tony Blair tends to acknowledge this fundamental divide by arguing that despite these differences, everyone can now agree that the U.S. side must win in Iraq. But the worldview Dr. Rice articulated throughout her confirmation hearings may be even more troubling to alienated allies than the specifics of Iraq. Her idea that the campaign against Islamist extremism and terrorism can be likened to the epic struggles of the Cold War and World War II is simply not widely accepted outside of Washington. Dr. Rice has previously sought to explain events in Iraq by comparing the situation there...
...Rice may maintain that the absence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq does nothing to change the strategic rationale for the war, but for the allied governments who went against their own electorates in order to support the U.S. the failure to find the offending weapons, and the chaos that has characterized almost two years of occupation, are nothing short of catastrophic politically. If the U.S. had been vindicated by events, the size of its coalition of those willing to help out in Iraq would have grown; instead it continues to steadily shrink as countries pull their troops...
...course, Dr. Rice could not have been expected to answer the question, also posed by many allies, of when the U.S. plans to leave Iraq. The goals that have previously been defined as allowing for such a withdrawal may be years off, and the revision of those goals will be determined in no small part by the shape of the government that emerges after January 30. Ultimately, as she stressed, it will be up to Iraqis to determine when the U.S. leaves. And current U.S. intelligence estimates now reportedly suggest that the government elected on that day will, in fact...
...Rice's response to questions about torture will also have done little to assuage the increasing alarm, even among close allies such as Britain, over the U.S. handling of terror suspects at Guantanamo and elsewhere. And her tough talk on Iran in response to the suggestion by Republican senator Lincoln Chafee for greater engagement with Tehran will have raised alarm bells in Europe, particularly coming on a rising tide of media speculation about possible U.S. military action on Iran...
...long-suffering allies, the single most encouraging emphasis coming from Dr. Rice will be the determination she expressed to seek a resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict during President Bush's second term. (Allies, and even the 9/11 Commission, have long warned that the ongoing conflict, and the unconditional U.S. support for Israel, impedes America's ability to achieve its goals in Iraq and elsewhere in the Middle East.) While Dr. Rice's comments in this respect have been well-received, the tough policy choices required to achieve the goal of ending the conflict may yet prove disappointing to allies...