¶ … George W. Bush White House [...] Bush's appointment of Condoleezza Rice and her success in the George W. Bush cabinet. The Bush White House has been shedding cabinet members since re-election in November, but one member who has stayed and moved up the ranks is Secretary Condoleezza Rice. She seems to be the most strategic choice to replace Colin Powell as Secretary of State, and her tenure should bring cohesiveness to the President's Cabinet that may have been lacking before. Elected in 2000 after eight years of Democratic leadership in the White House, George W. Bush began his first term as president in January 2001. One of his first appointments was his National Security Advisor, Condoleezza Rice. Dr. Rice was born on November 14, 1954 in Birmingham, Alabama. She graduated cum laude in political science from the University of Denver in 1974, received her Master's in 1975, and her PhD. In 1981. Before her service in Washington, she was the Provost for Stanford University for six years, and taught political science at the school, too (Editors). Rice has served admirably throughout her tenure as National Security Advisor, but has taken some criticism for her initial failure to testify at the 9/11 Senate hearings, and for the lack of intelligence on security after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Otherwise, her tenure has been quite successful. In addition, President Bush's tenure has also been successful in the White House -- that is clear from his re-election in November. The American people want another four years of Bush doctrine, which includes a strong stand on wiping out terrorism around the world. Dr. Rice helped create the National Security Strategy that the White House uses as a measure of its' success around the world. In the Strategy, "The White House reasons, 'America is now threatened less by conquering states than we are by falling ones. We are menaced less by fleets and armies than by catastrophic technologies in the hands of the embittered few. We must defeat these threats to our nation, allies and friends'" (Waller). Thus, America's Security Strategy has altered under President Bush and Dr. Rice.

In November 2004, after Secretary of State Colin Powell resigned his post, President Bush nominated Dr. Rice to fill the job. She faces confirmation by the Senate, which should be a formality since she is already a Presidential advisor. President Bush immediately nominated Deputy National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley to replace Rice in her Security Advisor post. There are many speculations why Powell decided to resign. Reports say that he disagreed with President Bush about the war in Iraq, and disagreed with other key White House staff, including Vice-President Dick Cheney, too. Well-known Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward notes, "Rumsfeld and U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell disagree on many issues, and Powell and U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney also disagree on things" (Woodward). This may be one reason Powell handed in his resignation, leaving the door open for Dr. Rice.

Dr. Rice has many duties as National Security Advisor. Clearly, she is a top advisor to the President and his Cabinet, and this position became even more important after the terrorist attacks of 9/11. Dr. Rice was responsible for all facets of national security. She developed the National Security Advisory for President Bush, and worked closely with Tom Ridge, after the President appointed him as the head of the new Homeland Security department created after 9/11. In her new role as Secretary of State, Rice will literally represent the ideals of the United States around the globe. The goal of the State Department is to lead foreign affairs for the country. The Department is responsible for the U.S. Embassies around the world, and the Secretary of State is one of the President's closest advisors. Condoleezza Rice should successfully fit the role, and with her foreign knowledge, (she is an expert on Russia), she should represent the United States quite well around the world. It seems that President Bush's appointment of Dr. Rice is a strategic move that will serve the country well, because Dr. Rice is professional and well respected by her peers and most people she will deal with around the world.

After the 9/11 attacks, the country began a search...

The first offensive involved Afghanistan, where terrorist leader Osama bin Laden was supposed to have his headquarters. American soldiers broke up several terrorist training camps, and helped liberate the Afghanistan people from the ultra-conservative Taliban rule, but they did not find Osama bin Laden, although they found several of his henchmen. As the search for bin Laden expanded, so did the concerns about terrorist organizations centered in other Middle East locations, such as Iraq. The administration was also concerned about Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, and liberating the Iraqis from his reign of terror and oppression.
In March 2003, American and other world forces invaded Iraq and removed Hussein from power. In addition, they later caught and killed both Hussein's sons, notorious in their own right, and finally captured Hussein himself in December 2003. He is now on trial in Iraq for various crimes and atrocities during his rule. However, the war in Iraq drags on, and over 1,200 American men and women have been killed during the fighting. Iraqi elections are scheduled for January 2005, but there is doubt the country will be stable enough for the elections to take place by then. Soldiers in Iraq have faced numerous insurgents and suicide bombers who attack at will, and have taken over cities in the country, who have caused the allied forces to attack the city and clear out the insurgents. In addition, some troops have been charged with atrocities concerning prisoners in some Iraqi prisons that were being guarded by American National Guard troops. The war in the Middle East has dragged on longer than many people thought it would, and has cast doubt on the U.S.'s continued involvement in the war.

After the 9/11 attacks, there were many questions about how the terrorist attacks were handled, and why the U.S. did not have more notice or intelligence that attacks like this might occur. The Senate formed a special committee, the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, and began to dig deeply into the causes and outcomes of the terrorist attacks. At first, President Bush used his executive privilege to keep Dr. Rice from testifying before the Commission. However, he finally "waived that privilege [ ... ] after being assured by the chairmen of the commission and congressional leaders that Miss Rice's public testimony would not set a legal precedent" (Lakely A01). Bush felt the events and responses were unique, and needed to remain private, rather than public, but there was so much controversy over his not allowing Dr. Rice to testify that he finally backed down. He and Vice-President Cheney also testified privately before the head of the Committee. An anonymous White House staff member notes about Dr. Rice, "This person is knowledgeable and credible and has been on top of the global war on terror from the beginning. She is one of the administration's best assets'" (Lakely A01). Rice did testify, and the 9/11 Commission, as it has been called, issued a report that included several recommendations for increased security in the country, and noted that the attacks of 9/11 should have been more fully anticipated. However, they did not censure the government, which reacted quite quickly and strongly to the attacks.

After a close campaign, President Bush was re-elected to a second term in November 2004. One of the first Cabinet members to resign was Colin Powell, and Bush immediately named Dr. Rice as his replacement. It seems Dr. Rice is a strategic choice for a number of reasons. She already has experience with the White House and White House staff, and she understands the needs and wants of the President. Members of both political parties respect her, and she is an expert in foreign affairs. She does not disagree with key personnel, as Secretary Powell did, and she shares the President's views on foreign affairs, which is evidenced in the National Security Strategy, which she helped formulate. Colin Powell was a moderate who disagreed with aspects of the war in the Middle East, but it seems Rice will not bring these problems to the job, and will fit in better with the President's goals for the next four years.

It is clear that President Bush and Dr. Rice have very specific goals for country during the next four years. The most important aspect of the job it seems is to efficiently manage all aspects of the country's foreign affairs, including upholding the National Security Strategy around the world. President Bush trusts Dr. Rice, and as such, her role is strategic for the country, and for how the country presents itself to the world. It seems that Dr. Rice will represent the country well, and that President Bush will listen to her recommendations for a global strategy,…