Rice as US Secretary of State

Colin Powell's decision to step down as US secretary of state at the end of a tumultuous four years elicited mixed reactions.

But Powell had long been the most popular and respected member of the Bush cabinet internationally. Many considered him a moderating influence on US foreign policy, and are sorry to see such an able and highly regarded man quit public office.

Tap here to add The Daily Star as a trusted source

There can be no doubt that Dr. Rice is eminently qualified for the job in terms of her experience and acumen. Whether she will possess the diplomatic capacity for the job, or indeed, whether the second Bush administration will place much emphasis on diplomacy, remains to be seen.

Critics will point out that she did not do a good job coordinating between the departments of State and Defence as NSA, and that her public statements on Iraq and WMD demonstrated a lack of candour. Cynics will say that Bush, Cheney, and Rumsfeld will continue to dominate US foreign policy-making regardless of who is secretary of state.

Either way, hers is a historical appointment. That she is the first female African-American secretary of state and that her tenure follows that of the first African-American and the first female secretaries of state is surely a good sign for the US.

In addition to her academic and intellectual credentials, Dr. Rice is a first-class pianist and one-time competition-level ice-skater who is said to be a gracious and decent person. Such an accomplished person with a strong mooring in cultural diversity should be a good communicator in international affairs.

The second Bush term is a historic opportunity for the US to recover from the mis-steps of the first, and we sincerely hope that Dr. Rice will succeed in her momentous task of bringing the US and the rest of the world closer together in the next four years.