Condoleezza Rice
A Talk with the National Security Adviser

Listen to the radio interview.

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March 1, 2002 -- The Bush administration is using cautious language to react to a plan floated this week by Saudi Arabia for Middle East peace. On Thursday, White House spokesman Ari Fleischer lauded the plan's "vision," but stopped well short of endorsing it.

National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice Photo: The White House

National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice gave a similar assessment during a wide-ranging interview Thursday with NPR's Juan Williams. She applauded Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah's proposal -- not for its specifics, but for "the atmosphere that this may create for new opportunities for peace." And, like Fleischer and others in the administration, she emphasized a U.S. proposal --the Mitchell Plan -- that calls for an immediate ceasefire and a cooling-off period before peace talks can begin.

That plan, devised by a commission headed by former Sen. George Mitchell, incorporates a series of "confidence-building" measures as a prelude to further negotiations. But first, Rice said, "we'd like to get the security situation to the place where the Mitchell Plan could actually be pursued."

The Saudi plan calls for Israel to withdraw from the Palestinian territories and for Arab countries to normalize relations with the Israeli government, ensuring security for the country.

As speculation continues to mount as to what the administration's plans might be for Iraq, Rice continues to follow President Bush's line of rhetoric -- for instance, telling Williams that "the world would be much better off with a regime that could respect its neighbors … and that is not Saddam Hussein's regime."

As to growing criticism by European leaders over what they perceive as the United States' unilateralism toward Iraq, Rice noted, "the president has taken no decision on the use of force in Iraq. And there would be a consultative process were he beginning to lean toward doing that."


Previous NPR Coverage

Rice's address to the National Press Club last July.

Listen to a profile of Rice by NPR's Mike Shuster from December 2000, when Mr. Bush named her to her post.


Other Resources

• The Hoover Institution's bio of Rice.

• An election-year profile in Salon magazine called Rice "the brains of the operation."

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