A Very Different Rice to be UN Ambassador

Obama will raise post to Cabinet, appoint anti-genocide crusader
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 1, 2008 9:06 AM CST
A Very Different Rice to be UN Ambassador
In an April 11, 2007 file photo, Susan E. Rice of the Brookings Institution testifies before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington.   (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak/file)

Barack Obama will name Susan Rice as his UN ambassador when he unveils his foreign policy team today, the New York Times reports. Rice (no relation to Condoleezza), was an assistant secretary of state under Bill Clinton, but has been an Obama adviser since the beginning. She’s an advocate of using “dramatic action” against genocide, including military force if need be.

“She’s obviously one of his closest advisers, so it underscores how much of a priority he’s making the position,” said one senior diplomat. Obama also intends to restore the ambassadorship to the Cabinet rank it enjoyed under Bill Clinton. Bush elected to let the ambassadorship slide, believing the UN should play a minor role in US foreign policy. (More Susan Rice stories.)

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