Condoleezza Rice

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Probe Looms for US Billions to Pakistan

LIttle accounting for use of mammoth payments

(Newser) - The electoral defeat of President Pervez Musharraf may prompt Congress to scrutinize the Coalition Support Funds—billions of dollars paid by the US to Pakistan to foot the bill for military action against al-Qaeda near the border with Afghanistan. US officials approve some $80 million a month despite only vague...

US, EU States Recognize Independent Kosovo
US, EU States Recognize Independent Kosovo
UPDATED

US, EU States Recognize Independent Kosovo

Spain withholds nod; prez gets ahead of US State Dept.

(Newser) - The US and major European states recognized Kosovo as an independent state today, reports Reuters. Condoleezza Rice issued an official statement several hours after President Bush jumped the gun by saying in a speech in Africa that Kosovo is "now independent." His Secretary of State said later: "...

Bush Praises African Success
Bush Praises African Success

Bush Praises African Success

He begins trip, backs power-sharing deal for Kenya

(Newser) - President Bush is keeping things positive on his five-country African tour, focusing attention on “success stories.” But at the same time, he says, his efforts are addressing conflicts ravaging the continent.  “When you herald success, it helps others realize what is possible,” he said during...

Army Buried Report Critical of Iraq Planning

Study rips Bush, agencies on poorly managed rebuilding

(Newser) - A federally funded report harshly critical of President Bush's management of rebuilding efforts in Iraq was deliberately buried by the Army, reports the New York Times. The 2005 assessment by the RAND Corp. accused Bush of failing to smooth over interagency rivalries. It criticized the "uneven quality" of a...

Rice Pays Surprise Visit to Kandahar

Bid to reassure Afghan president of NATO commitment

(Newser) - US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her British counterpart David Miliband made a surprise visit today to Kandahar, the dangerous city in southern Afghanistan that diplomats rarely visit. Rice and Miliband will meet Hamid Karzai later today to try to reassure the Afghan president that his country remains a...

NATO Faces a Split Over Afghanistan

US says alliance could become 'two-tiered' unless others pull their weight

(Newser) - US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said today that NATO risks splitting into a "two-tiered alliance" because some members aren't willing to pull their weight in Afghanistan. The vast majority of the fighting against the Taliban in the country is done by Canadian, British, American and Dutch troops, and those...

Poland, US Move Closer on Missile Shield

Countries agree, in principle, on military cooperation plan

(Newser) - Poland agreed, in principle, yesterday to host controversial US missile interceptors on its soil, the AP reports, after Condoleezza Rice sat down with Poland's foreign minister and agreed to help upgrade its military in return. The foreign minister told reporters in Washington that there was still a lot of negotiating...

Wolfowitz Appointment Draws Fire
Wolfowitz Appointment Draws Fire

Wolfowitz Appointment Draws Fire

Rice taps Iraq mastermind to chair influential panel

(Newser) - Paul Wolfowitz is returning to the Bush administration as a security adviser, and even before it was official, the appointment was drawing boos, the New York Times reports. The controversial figure will take Fred Thompson’s seat as chairman of the Secretary of State’s International Security Advisory Board, an...

Thousands Pour Over Bombed Gaza Border Wall

Blockaded Palestinians rush to Egypt for food, fuel, medicine

(Newser) - Tens of thousands of Palestinians flooded into Egypt today after a wall was blown up by militants, CNN reports. Egyptian border guards did not intervene as people rushed over the downed fence to buy food and fuel. An Israeli blockade of Hamas-controlled Gaza, in response to a rise in rocket...

Power Brokers Return to Davos
Power Brokers Return to Davos

Power Brokers Return to Davos

World Economic Forum slights Hollywood, gets back to business

(Newser) - The Swiss ski resort of Davos turns into a giant think tank tomorrow as politicians, financiers, and other masters of the universe gather for the World Economic Forum. This year's summit will eschew some of the Hollywood glamor of sessions past, the Independent reports: Emma Thompson will put in an...

Top US Diplomat on Iran Resigns
Top US Diplomat on Iran Resigns

Top US Diplomat on Iran Resigns

Ambassador to Russia succeeds Burns, who will keep a hand in India nuke talks

(Newser) - The Bush administration’s leading diplomat on Iran, a top adviser to Condoleezza Rice, is resigning, the Washington Post reports. Under secretary of state for political affairs Nicholas Burns will leave in March but retain a limited role as a special envoy for negotiations on nuclear matters with India. William...

Bush Abandoned Mideast Democracy Push: Activists

He's just after political stability now, they charge

(Newser) - President Bush wound up a Middle East tour yesterday leaving many pro-democracy activists in the region bitter and disappointed, reports the Washington Post. The president and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice pressured authoritarian Arab governments for political reforms in 2005, but now activists worry that the White House is favoring...

Bush Asks OPEC for More Oil
Bush Asks OPEC for More Oil

Bush Asks OPEC for More Oil

Warns even rogue Iranian attack would have 'serious consequences'

(Newser) - OPEC should start producing more oil, President Bush told Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah today, or it risks damaging “consuming economies,” like the US. Bush said high oil prices were reducing consumer purchasing power, and said more supply “would be helpful.” He also warned Iran to...

Putin Pick Hits Campaign Trail
Putin Pick Hits Campaign Trail

Putin Pick Hits Campaign Trail

Medvedev launches bid with 79% support in polls, virtually no competition

(Newser) - Vladimir Putin's hand-picked replacement has launched his presidential campaign with a 2-day visit to Russia's far west. Dmitry Medvedev has seen his popularity soar since the president announced he would like to see him as his successor: he's now polling 79%, higher than Putin did before his 2004 landslide victory,...

Bush Seeks to Drum Up Arab Support
Bush Seeks
to Drum Up Arab Support

Bush Seeks to Drum Up Arab Support

President wraps up first Israeli visit and moves on to Kuwait

(Newser) - President Bush flew to Kuwait today, the first of five Arab nations he will visit to drum up support for an Israeli/Palestinian peace deal and to find ways to contain Iran. But don’t expect a “blinding flash” of support, given Israel’s pariah status, Condoleezza Rice warned. Bush...

Chavez Shows Supermodel Interviewer His Guns

Supermodel-turned-journo interviews Venezuelan president

(Newser) - Naomi Campbell has found a new calling: political journalism. The phone-flinging supermodel interviewed Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez for British GQ's latest issue, reports the Guardian. When Campbell asked the president if he would ever pose topless à la Vladimir Putin, Chavez replied: "Why not? Touch my muscles?"

Libyan Minister Meets Rice, Signs Pacts

Washington visit latest chapter in makeover for former pariah state

(Newser) - In the latest sign of a remarkable turnaround in relations between the countries, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice today hosted Libyan Foreign Minister Abdel-Rahman Shalqam, who later signed agreements on science and technology. Leader Moammar Gaddafi's renunciation of terrorism and enmity with the West has opened relations, the Washington ...

Iran Plans 19 Nuke Plants
Iran Plans 19 Nuke Plants

Iran Plans 19 Nuke Plants

Rejects calls to drop uranium enrichment

(Newser) - Iran has dismissed calls to drop uranium enrichment and plans 19 new nuclear power plants, Reuters reports. "US officials have talked of negotiations" on the condition that Iran stop the enrichment, "but we do not accept any preconditions for talks," Iran's Foreign Minister said today. The UN...

US Billions in Pakistan Wasted
US Billions in Pakistan Wasted

US Billions in Pakistan Wasted

Money earmarked for war on terror diverted to shore up regime

(Newser) - Billions of dollars the US gave to Pakistan to bolster counterterrorism efforts against al-Qaeda apparently have been diverted to prop up President Pervez Musharraf's government and finance weapons systems aimed at India, reports the New York Times. Because the US has failed to properly monitor military aid programs, progress against...

US to Privately Grade Mideast Peace Plan

Critics question secret oversight; official says it avoids public blame

(Newser) - Washington will secretly score Israeli and Palestinian adherence to the "road map" peace plan and hash out results with each side, Reuters reports. US diplomats plan to report to the White House on Israeli settlement growth and Palestinian vows to curb militants, two keys to the peace deal—but...

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