Word: rice
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...Administration. As the nation faces growing concern about its Iraq policy and the need for clear intelligence to counter terrorist threats, Director of Intelligence John Negroponte will resign, U.S. officials have confirmed, to take an appointment as the No. 2 official at the State Dept and deputy to Condoleezza Rice...
...Negroponte is expected to bring much-needed help and Iraq expertise to Rice at the State Dept, where she has functioned without a deputy and other key aides for several months. Negroponte was ambassador to Baghdad in 2004 and 2005 and, before that, U.S. representative at the United Nations. He has long been associated with America's Iraq policy; as an experienced diplomat but also a hardliner, he was a frequent briefer for President Bush. "Secretary Rice has now said she wants to focus on Arab-Israel peace talks, and other pressing matters which she would not be able...
...Negroponte's predecessor in the No. 2 job at State was Robert Zoellick, who stepped down in July to accept a position with Goldman Sachs, the New York-based investment banking firm. Rice reportedly approached several candidates to replace him over a period of months, without finding anyone willing to step into the difficult post...
...Among those to who declined the job, according to knowledgeable officials, was Robert Gates, to whom Rice offered the job while he was still president of Texas A&M. Gates, for whom Rice had once worked at the NSC, later accepted the job of President Bush's new Defense Secretary, replacing Donald Rumsfeld...
...Then in early November, Rice fixed on Negroponte. As a longtime career diplomat, he is widely respected at State, but also considered tough-minded enough to carry out Bush's plans for Iraq and apparent intention to beef up the U.S. troop presence there. "He's a diplomat's diplomat," Rice spokesman Sean McCormack said. "He is somebody who is a close colleague to the Secretary. She has a very good working relationship with him. He has the confidence of the President...