Susan Rice ritira come candidato per il segretario di Stato

U.N. Ambasciatore Susan E. Rice ha ritirato il suo nome Giovedi, come principale candidato del presidente Obama per il segretario di Stato, dicendo che l'amministrazione non poteva permettersi un "lungo, dirompente e costoso "lotta di conferma sopra dichiarazioni ha fatto circa l'attacco estremisti in Libia che ha ucciso quattro americani.

Rice ha chiamato Obama Giovedi mattina, prima di inviare una lettera ufficialmente il ritiro dalla considerazione. Rice ha detto in una intervista che aveva concluso all'inizio di questa settimana che quello che lei e Obama considerato oneri "sleali e ingannevoli" contro di lei oltre Sept. 11 attacco a Bengasi, Libia, ostacolerebbe agenda secondo mandato del presidente.

"Questa era la mia decisione,"Ha detto la Rice. Quando è stato chiesto se Obama aveva cercato di dissuaderla, she said that he “understood that this was the right decision, and that I made it for the right reasons.”

Her withdrawal leaves Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John F. Kerry (D-Mass) with no apparent rivals to take over from Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. A senior administration official said that “something strange would have to happen” for Kerry not to be the choice.

The official also said that former senator Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) has emerged as a “solid” candidate to run the Pentagon, although a final decision has not been made. For the CIA, the official said, Obama is deciding between Acting Director Michael J. Morell and deputy national security adviser John O. Brennan, who has yet to tell the president whether he would accept the job.

As Obama assembles his second-term national security team, formal announcements are due as early as next week. National security adviser Thomas E. Donilon will remain in his job, according to officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal White House deliberations.

Rice said in the interview that “after a long, grueling battle, in all likelihood, I would be confirmed.” The assessment was shared by White House officials and by senior Democratic congressional aides who said they were confident that a majority of senators would have voted for her.

“But I really came to believe this would not be weeks, but potentially months, and in­cred­ibly distracting and disruptive,"Ha detto la Rice. The first few months of any president’s second term, ha detto, are “your high-water mark of influence.”

“If my nomination meant that the odds of getting comprehensive immigration reform passed or any other major priority were substantially reduced, I couldn’t live with myself,"Ha detto.

Rice’s withdrawal was a retreat by Obama, who had repeatedly voiced support for her. In a statement issued by the White House, Obama described her as “an extraordinarily capable, patriotic, and passionate public servant.”

But her removal from the scene is unlikely to quell the controversy that led to it: the extremist attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Libya that killed U.S. Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and three other Americans.

Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) have focused on what they called Rice’s intentionally misleading description, in television interviews five days after the attack, of an anti-American demonstration that turned violent. The administration later revised that assessment, using what it said was updated intelligence information, to blame organized extremists.

Rice’s withdrawal, Graham said in a statement, “will not end questions about what happened in Benghazi.” Clinton is scheduled to appear before House and Senate committees next week to discuss an independent State Department review of possible security lapses that is nearing completion.

Rice and Obama made clear that she will continue at the United Nations. But administration officials said Obama left open a door when he spoke of her “limitless capability to serve our country now and in the years to come.”

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Nelle settimane prima del novembre. 6 Elezioni presidenziali, come critica repubblicano di riso cristallizzato, la Casa Bianca inizialmente interpretato la lotta su di lei come palesemente di parte. Repubblicani del Congresso sono stati ingiustamente attaccando l'ambasciatore semplicemente perché ha rappresentato la Casa Bianca, portavoce Administration ha detto.

GOP candidato presidenziale Mitt Romney ha anche criticato la Casa Bianca per l'attacco e ha suggerito c'era stato un cover-up.

Ma la controversia sulla rappresentazione della Rice dell'attacco non evaporare dopo che Obama ha vinto, e alcuni democratici del Congresso sono diventati preoccupati per il costo di una battaglia candidatura che, probabilmente, avrebbe fatto negoziati su tasse e spendere più difficile.

The White House insisted that Rice’s television appearances had been closely coordinated with the intelligence community, and senior intelligence officials came forth with background statements supporting her.

Obama did not disguise his anger in defending Rice at a news conference after the election.

“If Senator McCain and Senator Graham and others want to go after somebody, they should go after me,", Ha detto. “I’m happy to have that discussion with them. But for them to go after the U.N. ambassador who had nothing to do with Benghazi, and was simply making a presentation based on intelligence that she had received, and besmirch her reputation is outrageous.”

But White House attempts to mollify critics and round up support by sending Rice to Capitol Hill for two days of meetings last month backfired when moderates such as Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) declined to endorse her.

Collins’s criticism was a red flag for the administration. Along with new Republican charges this week that Rice had mishandled diplomatic tasks when she served as the Bill Clinton administration’s chief diplomat on Africa, Rice and the White House began to believe that the cause was not worth the price.

The Africa charges, a senior Obama official said, “indicated that they were going to keep going — once they ran out of one issue, they would manufacture another.”

By last Sunday, Rice said in the interview, “I started very seriously thinking that the costs really outweighed the benefits. That no number of facts or rationality or reason was going to deter those who were determined to make this a political issue.”

In its schedule, the White House said Obama will meet with Rice in the Oval Office on Friday.

Throughout the controversy, Kerry has said little about Rice. Giovedi ', he called her “an extraordinarily capable and dedicated public servant.”

“As someone who has weathered my share of political attacks and understands on a personal level just how difficult politics can be,", Ha detto, “I’ve felt for her throughout these last difficult weeks, but I also know that she will continue to serve with great passion and distinction.”

Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) said Rice could have been confirmed by the Senate but for the actions of certain Republicans. “The politically motivated attacks on her character from some of my Republican colleagues were shameful,” he said in a statement Thursday.

Riso, 48, was an early Obama backer among Democratic national security experts who had worked in the Clinton White House, where she served on the National Security Council staff. Durante l' 2008 campagna, Hillary Clinton’s team considered Rice’s support for Obama a defection.

After Obama won, he gave Rice the U.N. job, a plum among policy wonks but a post that is not well known nationally. Ci, she quickly became a White House insider with strong connections among Obama’s close circle of policy advisers. Rice ha lavorato a fianco di Hillary Clinton, senza alcun accenno pubblico della discordia, anche se i due non sono mai stati vicino.

In una dichiarazione rilasciata dal Dipartimento di Stato, Clinton ha invitato Rice "un partner indispensabile" e ha detto che avevano lavorato insieme su questioni difficili quali l'Iran, Corea del Nord, Libia e Sud Sudan. "Susan ha lavorato instancabilmente per promuovere gli interessi ei valori della nostra nazione,"Ha detto Clinton. "Sono fiducioso che continuerà a rappresentare gli Stati Uniti con forza e abilità."

Rice ha detto che non pensa il segretario della battaglia Stato metterà a repentaglio la sua efficacia alle Nazioni Unite. "Sanno, perché hanno visto in prima persona, che ho la piena fiducia del presidente,"Ha detto.

Fonte: WP