Interview With Sean Hannity

Secretary Condoleezza Rice
Washington, DC
March 7, 2007

(3:35 p.m. EST)

QUESTION: Welcome to the Sean Hannity Show. Thank you for being with us. Joining us on our newsmaker line is Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice (inaudible). Don't you love it that I drive liberals nuts?

SECRETARY RICE: (Laughter.) How are you, Sean?

QUESTION: It's always good to talk to you. Are you doing well?

SECRETARY RICE: Doing very well, thank you.

QUESTION: Well, we always love having you on and we appreciate everything that you're doing. I know it's hard work and difficult. Actually, do you want the harder political question which you hate first or do you want that last?

SECRETARY RICE: Why don't we do that last, Sean. Let's get through those hard questions like North Korea and Iran first.

QUESTION: You know, it's funny because you always want it last in the hopes of, oops, sorry, we're out of time.

SECRETARY RICE: Out of time. Exactly, right.

QUESTION: All right, we'll do it the way you want. But anyway, thanks for being with us. Let's talk a little bit about -- there has been a shift in terms of the Administration's position on Iran and Ahmadi-Nejad, and as part of talks that would go on with neighbors in the region in Iraq, we would be willing to sit down with them. Is it a mistake to sit down with a guy that denies the Holocaust, that has chanted death to the U.S., that called just last week, you know, Israel the Satan?

SECRETARY RICE: Well, I think we've been very clear about Ahmadi-Nejad and our views that in no case should a respectable nation be involved in that kind of name-calling about another country. And I actually think he's getting blasted not just here in the United States but in his own country for that kind of language.

But, Sean, let me just be very clear. The United States is in a position now where I think we send a very strong message to the Iranians through the President's decision to send the carrier strike group into the Gulf, through the fact that we've picked up some of their people who have been engaged in activities to harm our soldiers, and the fact that we've been shutting down the international financial system to them. I think we're in a much stronger position to go to a neighbors meeting. But this is about Iraq. This is not about U.S.-Iran relations. This is about Iraq.

QUESTION: All right. I understand that, but I would just think that it was a mistake for the United States knowing -- what can we possibly get in sitting down with a table that denies the Holocaust, that wants to wipe Israel off the map, that has shunned the international community on issues involving nuclear weapons, that chants death to the U.S., that Israel is Satan? Am I wrong in just assuming that that is not somebody we can have a reasonable discussion with? Should we first of all say that if you want to discuss anything with the U.S., you have to first acknowledge the Holocaust occurred?

SECRETARY RICE: Well, I think that when you look at what people are saying about Ahmadi-Nejad in his own country, he has clearly made a big mistake in using that kind of language because it has made very clear that he is an international outlaw in that regard.

Now, why are we sitting down at the table? First of all, Sean, we have been at the table, so to speak, before in the International Compact for Iraq. But this is a meeting that the Iraqis are calling of their neighbors to get their neighbors to have more responsible policies toward Iraq. If that can succeed, that's a very good thing, but this is not a bilateral discussion between the United States and Iran.

QUESTION: All right. Let me ask you this. Do we want regime change in Iran?

SECRETARY RICE: We certainly want that regime to change its behavior and we certainly want for the Iranian people the kind of freedoms and democratic future that everybody else in the world -- that everybody in the world should have, absolutely.

QUESTION: Well, I mean, it would be -- I think the world will be better off. And I'm just not as hopeful. I just think almost it seems to me fruitless. But look I understand that the idea and -- but you would not put a lot of hope in his willingness to change his rhetoric on the international stage.

SECRETARY RICE: No, but you know, Sean, I do think there may be more. I don't think they're moderates in Iran, but I think there may be more reasonable people in Iran who can look at the isolation that they are now -- that they now have, that look at the fact that investment is dropping in Iran, that banks won't deal with Iran, that we have Security Council resolutions against Iran, and perhaps those people will want to change their policies. No, I don't have much hope for Ahmadi-Nejad himself.

QUESTION: Yeah. Somebody keeps picking up the line. I don't know if it's on your end or our end.

SECRETARY RICE: (Laughter.)

QUESTION: We usually don't have that problem. But let me ask you this, Dick Cheney, for example, said the following about Iraq as we move forward there. And he said the United States wants to finish its mission and return with honor there. He says he -- we know that if we leave Iraq before the mission is completed, the enemy is going to come after us. And I want you to know that the American people will not support a policy of retreat. You want to complete the mission, get it done right, return with honor.

SECRETARY RICE: Yes.

QUESTION: Are we going to be able to do that, considering all the political pressure that's going on in Washington?

SECRETARY RICE: Oh, I think that the American people want exactly the outcome that the Vice President just outlined and I think the American people also know that leaving an Iraq that is chaotic and might be a safe haven for terrorism is not just bad for Iraq and the Middle East, just very bad for the security of the United States. I believe that Sean, the President made a courageous decision in deciding that we had to reinforce our troops. It wasn't necessarily a popular decision, but presidents are asked throughout history to make the right decision and the President made the right decision. We've got to get out more, talk to the American people about what is happening in Iraq. Yes, it's very, very tough. But we don't have a choice but to succeed there.

QUESTION: I agree with you. Now, we now have -- the President has been lauding the surge results or the early results with the increased troops and the fact that they're going there, they're going into these tougher neighborhoods, they're pushing out the insurgency. And they're also staying and holding in those areas. And he's saying that we're seeing early results. Is that what you see?

SECRETARY RICE: Yes. I think the way that I would put it is the input so far are very good. The Iraqis are showing up in the numbers that they need to show up. The Maliki government is taking the difficult decisions that it needs to take. I think our forces are working well with the Iraqis. They're coming in. And there's some early signs that the confidence of people of Baghdad is being restored, but it's still early. And Sean, I just want to caution, there are going to be good days and bad days because the enemy is not going to sit still and so we have to be prepared for some bad days, too, but I do think that on balance, so far, things are going reasonably well.

QUESTION: Prime Minister Blair is going to be pulling out some of the troops that they have offered in this endeavor. Do you see a time -- are we now turning the corner here in terms of the training of the Iraqi troops and the Iraqi police force, where you think we may be at the end of this in terms of our -- the strength of our commitment to the --

SECRETARY RICE: Well, I do think we're getting there. The Iraqi forces are more capable. They are showing that they're more capable in this latest set of moves and the latest set of actions that they're taking. So yes, I think the day is coming when our commitment will be different, but what we really want to make sure is that we stay focused on the results, that we stay focused on what our troops are doing there. And our troops are helping the Iraqis to secure some breathing space for this young government to get national reconciliation.

QUESTION: There's been some criticism in conservative corners about the recent deal with North Korea, saying that we have basically just duplicated the deal that was made in the Clinton years and that there were far too many incentives offered to the North Koreans and that they still can't be trusted. How do you respond?

SECRETARY RICE: Well, I would say this isn't a matter of trust. This is a matter of being able to see if they live up to the obligations that they've undertaken. But this is a very different deal than the agreed framework of 1994.

Let me just give you one number, for instance. The United States transferred 500,000 metric tons of fuel oil to North Korea every year for eight years. And that was during a time when the North Koreans shut down their reactor. The North Koreans will shut down their reactor here in about a month. And for that, they will get 50,000 tons of fuel oil from South Korea, period.

The next phase will be for them to disable their nuclear facilities and then to go on to completely dismantle their program. So we're at the first stage. Sean, you know I'm a football fan. I always say we're in the first quarter of this and we will see how this goes out. But this is a very different deal and perhaps most importantly, this is an agreement with not just the United States, but also with China, Japan, South Korea, and Russia. And if the North Koreans break this deal this time, they will have no supporters anywhere in the world.

QUESTION: You're confident that this is a full trust-and-verify deal, that we will verify it before they're given the gains and rewards, also part of the new framework?

SECRETARY RICE: Well, this -- we will be able to tell what they're doing because shutting down a reactor, disabling; those are elements that we can verify.

QUESTION: Yeah. Let me ask about the comments of Russian President Putin attacking the U.S. recently, suggesting that the U.S. was trying to dominate the world through the use of force. Your reaction?

SECRETARY RICE: Well, it's just not the world that we see and actually, we've had some good cooperation with the Russians in some places, we've had some disagreements in others. But I really like the comments of Defense Secretary Gates; you know, one Cold War was enough, we don't need to do that again.

QUESTION: All right. Now are you ready for the real easy questions?

SECRETARY RICE: Sure.

QUESTION: All right. But first, let's say it's the summer of '08 and it's just before the Republican nomination -- the Republic convention. And let's say it's either Rudy Giuliani or Mitt Romney or one of the other candidates, they're going to be running for president for the Republicans. And you get a phone call from one of them and they say, "Madame Secretary, I would like you to join the ticket and be the next Vice President of the United States."

SECRETARY RICE: Well, Sean, you know --

QUESTION: Am I going to get in trouble for asking this?

SECRETARY RICE: I should have taken these questions first. (Laughter.) Sean, you know that I don't have any desire to run for office on either end of the ticket. And we're going to have really good candidates. I know that. We're going to have really good vice presidential candidates as well. But I'm going to go back to Stanford, hopefully by way of the Beijing Olympics.

QUESTION: Oh, you're going to the Olympics?

SECRETARY RICE: I'd love to go to the Olympics, sure.

QUESTION: Oh, that would be fun. But would you -- will you rule it out 100 percent that there's no way you wouldn't even consider it -- I mean, considering what an honor it would be?

SECRETARY RICE: Well, it would certainly be an honor, but I just don't see it for me.

QUESTION: 100 percent?

SECRETARY RICE: I just don't see it.

QUESTION: You're really good. Remind me not to negotiate with you. (Laughter.)

All right, let me ask this. I watched you very closely in an interview that you did recently with my buddy Chris Wallace over at Fox on Sunday. And he was pointing out to you, for example, you know, 94 percent of Americans would vote for their party's African American nominee and he was asking you, for example, about Senator Barack Obama. But there's one thing that you said in this interview here and that you said if you serve your full term, which we anticipate you will, you will have had an African American in the position of Secretary of State for 12 consecutive years.

SECRETARY RICE: No, I said there would not have been white male, because you had --

QUESTION: That's right, yeah, yeah.

SECRETARY RICE: Right. Madeleine Albright for four, then Colin Powell and --

QUESTION: Eight years then.

SECRETARY RICE: -- and then me. So African American, eight years and a woman and then two African Americans.

QUESTION: What does that mean? Because at the end of it you said race is still a factor in the country but -- and you said people still see race.

SECRETARY RICE: Sure.

QUESTION: Do you think to that extent, even though 94 percent in this poll are saying that they don't see it?

SECRETARY RICE: Well, I think what's happened, Sean, and it really speaks well for America, I think it's still the fact that when somebody walks in the room you see that they're black. It doesn't -- it's not the last thing that you see. It may even be the first thing that you see.

QUESTION: When I walk in a room, people say that I -- look, he's gained more weight. (Laughter.)

SECRETARY RICE: That's right. But, you know, the good thing about it is that I don't think it any longer really translates for people into a sense of whether or not that person is competent. I don't think it says anything more about what role that person ought to play. So even though race is still a factor, I do believe that as a country we've begun to get to the place that we don't impute to a particular race any particular characteristics, and that's a good thing.

QUESTION: Do you have any thoughts? Do you know Senator Barack Obama?

SECRETARY RICE: I do. I think he is a very attractive person. I think he's very smart. And you know, I think he will do very well. But I think ultimately people will make their decisions based on whether or not they share -- any candidate shares your value, whether you think any candidate is going to represent your interests. I still think that's how Americans will choose their president.

QUESTION: Well, I'm still thinking that you're going to get the job as the commissioner of the NFL. That's, I know, your dream job. It will come open again and you'll spend a year or two -- first of all, you'll spend four years as Vice President and you'll do a great job.

SECRETARY RICE: Thanks, but no thanks, Sean. (Laughter.)

QUESTION: Yeah, I know, what a great friend I am, huh?

SECRETARY RICE: Right.

QUESTION: Well, anyway, I do think you'd be a terrific Vice President if you ever wanted the job. And I know if you ever expressed any willingness that I know every one of these candidates would -- you'd be right there, number one or two on their list.

SECRETARY RICE: Well, I appreciate that. But I tell you, I'm looking forward to trying to help the President cement the democracy agenda here, to do what we can to make certain that we've laid a good foundation in this generational struggle against terrorism, and help the people of these young democracies in places like Iraq and Afghanistan and Lebanon lay a really good and strong foundation. I think that will be enough work for now.

QUESTION: I think that's something that you certainly will be proud of in the legacy. Let me ask you this question: Does it bother you as much as it bothers me, to the extent to which war has become politicized, how so many people seemingly have forgotten the attack on 9/11, the names that are called the President on a regular basis? You read the papers, you follow the news every day, you know how vicious these attacks have been and continue to be. Does that get to you? Does that bother you? Does that impact you in any way?

SECRETARY RICE: Well, I think you have to realize that it comes a bit with the territory. But certainly, sure, I do not like it when people call -- not just call the President names but somehow try to assert that he's been untruthful with the American people or -- it's just not true. And this President has made more really difficult decisions than any president in modern memory and he's done it because it was on our watch. It was our fortune to be here when the country was attacked in the way that it was on September 11th. And it is easy to forget the horror of that.

It's easy to forget that there's still terrorists out there who would love to do it again. It's hard to realize what it's like to be in government when you realize that the odds are this: They have to be right one time; you have to be right 100 percent of the time. And that set of responsibilities and preparing the country for war and executing war is one of the most difficult things that any commander-in-chief can do, and this President has done it very, very well. And yes, sure, I wish there were more recognition of that.

QUESTION: Madame Secretary, we always love having you on. Thank you for being with us and we'll talk soon. And we'll be talking football next time.

SECRETARY RICE: I look forward to it, Sean. Take care.

2007/167

ENDS