Former U.S. Secretary Of State Condoleeza Rice Reminiscences On 9/11

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and President George W Bush. Photo: GETTY

Condoleezza Rice 'Ordered Bush To Stay Out Of Washington' After 9/11 -- The Telegraph

Condoleezza Rice ordered George Bush not to return to Washington after the 9/11 attacks before hanging up the phone, the former national security advisor revealed in a documentary interview.

In a heated exchange, Ms Rice had to argue with the US President in Florida not to return to the White House because it was a potential terrorist target.

She told the Channel 4 documentary: "The President got on the phone and he said: 'I'm coming back'.

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More News On Condoleeza Rice's 9/11 Reflections

Condoleezza Rice: I told Bush not to come back after 9/11 -- The Independent
Condoleezza Rice reveals chaos following 9/11 attacks -- Jerusalem Post
Rice tells of Bush row after 9/11 -- Press Association
Rice kept Bush from DC on 9/11 -- New York Post
Condoleezza Rice reveals fear and chaos in White House during 9/11 attacks -- Mirror.co.uk
9/11 Documentary: Rice Ordered Bush Not to Return to Washington -- Arutz Sheva

Life After Foggy Bottom

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice with President Bush at the White House on Sunday.
(By Chip Somodevilla -- Getty Images)

From The Washington Post:

She is immaculately dressed, as always, wearing a gold necklace and a tailored suit in the fashionable color known as aubergine. And she is relaxed, which is a change from her usual demeanor, as the week bends toward Thanksgiving and her thoughts turn to life after Jan. 20.

Condoleezza Rice may be the most disciplined person in this town of workaholics. She has always been the perfect young woman, pleasing and impressing others. Her mother, Angelena, advised her, "Always remember, if you're overdressed, it reflects badly on [other people]; if you're underdressed, it reflects badly on you," according to a 2001 interview conducted by The Post's Dale Russakoff. And she has lived by that rule -- operating with the steely control that she learned as an ice skater and pianist.

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My Comment: Agree or disagree with her .... she has for the past 8 years played a pivotal role in shaping U.S. intelligence and foreign policies. A remarkable achievement when one considers how fleeting most careers are in Washington.

Rice Looks Back On Bush's Foreign Policy

From The International Herald Tribune:

On Jan. 20, Barack Obama will inherit a world very different from the one his predecessor found in January 2001. Over the past eight years, the Bush administration has faced great challenges and nurtured grand ambitions; it has tried hard to remake the world. Condoleezza Rice has been a central player in that effort since becoming the chief foreign policy adviser in 2000 to Bush, then a candidate, so we arranged to interview her at the State Department late last month. The interview turned into a wide-ranging discussion of where this government has taken the United States and what sort of world it will leave for the next president.

The highlights of her remarks follow.

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Keeping The Middle East Peace Talks On For The Next Administration

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice smiles in New Delhi October 4, 2008.
REUTERS/B Mathur

Rice Tries To Preserve Mideast Peace Talks -- Reuters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice flies to the Middle East on Wednesday to set the stage for future Israeli-Palestinian peace talks that both sides acknowledge will not produce an agreement this year.

The decision to hold an Israeli election in three months has effectively killed U.S. President George W. Bush's goal of securing a peace deal this year to end the six-decade conflict.

While Israeli-Palestinian peace talks are expected to continue, Israel's political uncertainty and Barack Obama's victory in the U.S. presidential election on Tuesday leave the Bush administration with limited influence in its waning days.

U.S. officials have said Rice, who leaves on a four-day trip to Israel, the Palestinian territories, Jordan and Egypt, has no intention of floating her own proposals to advance a last-minute deal.

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My Comment: Two and a half months is the time left in this job. Not much to do anything ....