David Rothkopf on the NSC
As Condi Rice moves on to State, Glenn Kessler and Thomas E. Ricks devote half a Washington Post article to what David Rothkopf, a former Clinton apointee at Commerce and the author of the forthcoming The Committee in Charge of Running the World, thought of Rice’s performance at NSC. Rothkopf makes some points that have ...
As Condi Rice moves on to State, Glenn Kessler and Thomas E. Ricks devote half a Washington Post article to what David Rothkopf, a former Clinton apointee at Commerce and the author of the forthcoming The Committee in Charge of Running the World, thought of Rice's performance at NSC. Rothkopf makes some points that have been stressed here at danieldrezner.com:
As Condi Rice moves on to State, Glenn Kessler and Thomas E. Ricks devote half a Washington Post article to what David Rothkopf, a former Clinton apointee at Commerce and the author of the forthcoming The Committee in Charge of Running the World, thought of Rice’s performance at NSC. Rothkopf makes some points that have been stressed here at danieldrezner.com:
David Rothkopf, who has written a forthcoming history of the National Security Council titled “Running the World,” said that much of the success of a national security adviser is defined not by the adviser but by the president. He said Rice “could not be more effective” as a top staffer to Bush because of the closeness she has had with him. But Rice’s management of the interagency process has been lagging, according to Rothkopf and former and current officials. In part, this is because Rice not only had to manage two powerful Cabinet members with sharply different views — Powell and Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld — but also to deal with a player distinctive to the Bush administration: Vice President Cheney, who weighs in on every major foreign policy question. Rothkopf said Bush undercut Rice in her running of the interagency process because he has allowed Cheney and Rumsfeld to operate outside the control of the NSC. “The president has to put his foot down and say, ‘This has to stop,’ ” Rothkopf said, but Bush never did. In an interview for Rothkopf’s book, Rice, who turned 50 on Sunday, noted that she was “the baby” of the group, whereas Cheney, Powell and Rumsfeld had dealt with one another over decades. But now, Rothkopf said, “her unique relationship with the president is going to enable her to counterbalance Rumsfeld if he stays — or anyone else. Condi has a better chance of being balanced with these guys now than Colin Powell four years ago.” (emphasis added)
Daniel W. Drezner is a professor of international politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and co-host of the Space the Nation podcast. Twitter: @dandrezner
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