http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/0118-08.htm
Published on Tuesday, January 18, 2005 by Agence France Presse
Condi Rice: Tsunami Provided "Wonderful Opportunity" for US
WASHINGTON - Asia's tsunami disaster provided a "wonderful opportunity" for the
United States to show compassion with relief efforts that reaped "great
dividends" on the diplomatic front, Secretary of State-designate Condoleezza
Rice said.
The tsunami was one of the worst tragedies of our lifetime. And it's
going to have a 10-year impact on rebuilding that area. I was very disappointed
in your statement. I think you blew the opportunity.
Barbara Boxer
US Senator
Rice's remarks, made at her Senate confirmation hearing, drew a sharp rebuke
from Democratic Senator Barbara Boxer who accused her of insensitivity to last
month's catastrophe that claimed some 168,000 lives across the Indian Ocean.
Rice, the outgoing national security adviser, made clear in her opening
statement Washington's hope of consolidating its influence in the region,
following up on the goodwill generated by US military help and financial aid
for tsunami victims.
"Our Asian alliances have never been stronger, and we will use that strength to
help secure the peace and prosperity of the region," she told the Senate
Foreign Relations Committee that was expected to clear her nomination with
little trouble.
US officials have trumpeted the massive military relief effort mounted by the
Pentagon as a humanitarian gesture that could score points in a part of the
world where anger still lingers from the Iraq war. In response to a question,
Rice agreed readily.
"I do agree that the tsunami was a wonderful opportunity to show not just the
US government, but the heart of the American people, and I think it has paid
great dividends for us," she said.
Boxer, a sharp critic of Rice's work as national security adviser, quickly took
the nominee to task over the characterization of the tsunami as a "wonderful
opportunity."
"The tsunami was one of the worst tragedies of our lifetime," Boxer said. "And
it's going to have a 10-year impact on rebuilding that area. I was very
disappointed in your statement. I think you blew the opportunity."
On another topic, Rice signaled that President George W. Bush's administration
would work to tighten ties with China, its one-time "strategic competitor,"
despite criticism of Beijing's human rights record.
"We are building a candid, cooperative and constructive relationship with China
that embraces our common interests but still recognizes our considerable
differences about values," Rice told the committee.
Her remarks reflected the delicate task facing Washington in dealing with the
Asian giant that is expanding its political and economic influence not only in
Asia, but in Latin America, Africa and Europe.
The US administration is counting on China to help rein in North Korea's
nuclear weapons ambitions. But several thorny issues loom in Bush's second
term, including trade, Taiwan and the potential lifting of Europe's 15-year
arms embargo on China.
Still, Rice was optimistic, saying: "In Asia, we have moved beyond the false
assumption that it is impossible to have good relations with all of Asia's
powers."
She called Japan, South Korea and Australia "key partners in our efforts to
deter common threats and spur economic growth" and called for unity in
insisting that North Korea, as well as Iran, "abandon their nuclear weapons
ambitions and choose instead the path of peace."
Rice hailed the peaceful, democratic transfer of power in two Asian Muslim
countries, Malaysia and Indonesia, but vowed to work for reform in Myanmar and
North Korea, two of the countries she called "outposts of tyranny."
She said the United States was cooperating with India on a range of economic
and security issues, while working with Pakistan "as a vital ally in the war on
terror and a state in transition towards a more moderate and democratic
future."
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