Rice Speaks to Int. Relations Committee
WASHINGTON, Feb. 17 -Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice spoke on a variety of issues Thursday ranging from Monday’s assassination of the former Lebanese prime minister to the recently certified Iraqi election results during her first appearance before the House International Relations Committee.
Rep. Tom Lantos, the committee’s senior Democrat, called for an international investigation focusing on Syria’s possible involvement in the death of Rafik Hariri, the former Lebanese prime minister.
“The Syrians have created an environment in Lebanon which allowed for this despicable act to occur,” the California Democrat said.
Rice said although she has not seen proof that Syria was involved, she agreed with the need for an investigation and added, “We have unfortunately a growing list of difficulties with the Syrian government.”
In response to questions from Rep. Edward Royce (R-Calif.) about efforts to fight the war on terror, Rice said she “believed very strongly” that the war would be won in ways similar to the Cold War by “winning hearts and minds” rather than through military efforts.
She later called American efforts in Iraq “critical to national security” and defended President George W. Bush’s supplemental budget request Monday for $82 billion, most of it to continue work in Iraq.
“We can’t fight this war on the defense; we’re trying to fight on the offense,” Rice said.
Rep. Howard Berman (D-Calif.) also commented on Bush’s budget proposal for the State Department, which would increase by 13 percent, telling Rice it would take a “strenuous effort” to push the requested $33.63 billion through Congress.
“You are going to have an enormous battle on your hands to preserve anywhere near that number,” Berman said.
When asked about the Iraqi election results, Rice said she did not believe the Shiite-dominated United Iraqi Alliance that won a majority of the seats in the new parliament in the Jan. 30 election would create a government dominated by their religious beliefs.
She added that the Shiites are “people who suffered tremendously” under Saddam Hussein’s regime, something she felt they were not likely to pass onto others.
Rice also addressed North Korea’s recent declaration of nuclear weapons, saying, “The North Koreans are succeeding, unfortunately, in further isolating themselves.”
Rep. William Delahunt, who did not get a chance to ask Rice a question, said after the hearing while there are “a lot of unanswered questions,” the committee’s hearing structure “doesn’t provide ample opportunity to fully explore the questions; we need days after days of hearings to really accomplish that.”
Delahunt, expressing concern about reports of misuse of the United Nations-supervised oil for food program, said he had planned to ask Rice about “the United States government’s role in allowing during the course of the Iraqi sanctions some $9 billion of illicit revenue to go into the coffers of Saddam Hussein.”
“That in my judgment sustained Saddam’s Hussein’s regime for years,” the Massachusetts Democrat continued. “It probably provided him with the funding that was necessary to sustain his military and to secure weapons that most likely are now being used against American military forces.”
Delahunt said he believes that “we as the government of the United States and the administration has to explain to the American people why they allowed that to happen.”
He added that “this has nothing to do with the United Nations, but there was a sanction program that was endorsed by the United Nations, we were part of it, we were aware of it and that we allowed it to continue.”
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