No Higher Honor: Condoleezza Rice

Condoleezza Rice, the elegant former Secretary of State, is back in the news again.

The world has not heard much from “Condi”, as she became known to all of us, throughout her years serving in the George W. Bush Administration in recent years, but she has recently written a memoir, entitled, “No Higher Honor: A Memoir of My Years In Washington”.  The book is quite revealing, and gives us insight on many situations she faced in her leadership position.

Though she writes about some things we’ve already heard, obviously, she writes from a completely different perspective. One such instance is that of Vice President Dick Cheney, who writes in his memoir of conflicts between he and Condoleezza Rice. She tells a completely different side of the story.

Then there’s the issue of the now-deceased Libyan dictator Moammar Gaddaffi’s obsession with the lovely lady, who he called “his African princess”. He had it so bad he even wrote her a song, entitled, “Black Flower in the White House”, which he presented as a gift to her.

When discussing the war in Iraq, she makes it clear that the administration “could have done better”, however, she still feels that direct action was absolutely necessary.

In an interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos, when asked about the war in Iraq, she says:

“This was a security threat of Saddam Hussein, who had started wars before, used weapons of mass destruction, was shooting at aircraft in the no-fly zone, was still threatening his neighbors, had tried to assassinate George H.W. Bush, was a cancer in the Middle East and a great source of that volatility in the Middle East, needed to be dealt with. And I, as much as anybody, understand and really regret the cost, particularly in lives.  But I also know that nothing of value is ever won without sacrifice.”

In a world where  the current administration believes every decision of theirs has been correct, Condoleezza Rice’s honest reflection is a refreshing reminder of the days of old, when mistakes are made,you acknowledge them and move on. It’s hard to believe that was just a few short years ago. It seems like a lifetime, trapped in a nightmare we cannot wake up from!