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Susan Rice Affirms View That P.O.W. Served With ‘Honor’ | Susan Rice Affirms View That P.O.W. Served With ‘Honor’ |
(3 months later) | |
WASHINGTON — President Obama’s national security adviser, Susan E. Rice, found herself in a familiar predicament this week: under fire from Republicans for statements she made about a murky sequence of events involving Americans in a distant land. | |
Speaking to CNN on Friday, Ms. Rice insisted that she had been right to assert last weekend that Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, the prisoner of war in Afghanistan released in exchange for five Taliban fighters, served with “honor and distinction,” even amid questions of whether he walked off his base. | Speaking to CNN on Friday, Ms. Rice insisted that she had been right to assert last weekend that Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, the prisoner of war in Afghanistan released in exchange for five Taliban fighters, served with “honor and distinction,” even amid questions of whether he walked off his base. |
Ms. Rice said she was referring to Sergeant Bergdahl’s decision to enlist in the Army and fight for his country — which she described as “a very honorable thing” — not the circumstances of his capture by the Taliban in June 2009. He needs to give his side of the story, she said, before one can conclude whether he was a deserter. | Ms. Rice said she was referring to Sergeant Bergdahl’s decision to enlist in the Army and fight for his country — which she described as “a very honorable thing” — not the circumstances of his capture by the Taliban in June 2009. He needs to give his side of the story, she said, before one can conclude whether he was a deserter. |
“He is, as always with Americans, innocent until proven guilty,” Ms. Rice said to CNN in Normandy, France, where Mr. Obama was marking the 70th anniversary of the D-Day invasion. “He’s now being tried in the court of public opinion after having gone through an enormously traumatic five years of captivity. His parents, the same.” | “He is, as always with Americans, innocent until proven guilty,” Ms. Rice said to CNN in Normandy, France, where Mr. Obama was marking the 70th anniversary of the D-Day invasion. “He’s now being tried in the court of public opinion after having gone through an enormously traumatic five years of captivity. His parents, the same.” |
Republican critics of the administration have seized on Ms. Rice’s remarks, much as they did in September 2012 when she went on Sunday morning talk shows after the attack on an American diplomatic outpost in Benghazi, Libya, and said that it had grown out of a spontaneous protest against a video about the Prophet Muhammad. | Republican critics of the administration have seized on Ms. Rice’s remarks, much as they did in September 2012 when she went on Sunday morning talk shows after the attack on an American diplomatic outpost in Benghazi, Libya, and said that it had grown out of a spontaneous protest against a video about the Prophet Muhammad. |
In fact, as the White House later confirmed, the attack was planned, though the video clearly played a role. Ms. Rice said she had based her assessment on talking points supplied by intelligence agencies, which were later superseded by new information. She noted that she had added caveats about the incompleteness of the initial assessment when she presented it. | In fact, as the White House later confirmed, the attack was planned, though the video clearly played a role. Ms. Rice said she had based her assessment on talking points supplied by intelligence agencies, which were later superseded by new information. She noted that she had added caveats about the incompleteness of the initial assessment when she presented it. |
The furor over her Benghazi remarks on Capitol Hill was so intense that it led her to withdraw her name from contention to be secretary of state. Mr. Obama later appointed her as national security adviser, a powerful post that does not require Senate confirmation. | The furor over her Benghazi remarks on Capitol Hill was so intense that it led her to withdraw her name from contention to be secretary of state. Mr. Obama later appointed her as national security adviser, a powerful post that does not require Senate confirmation. |
On Thursday, one of Ms. Rice’s harshest critics during the Benghazi episode, Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, called for her to be replaced. “When I hear her on television talking about a world event, I can’t believe anything she tells me,” he said to Newsmax TV. Another vocal critic, Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona, said Ms. Rice should “stay off the Sunday talk shows.” | On Thursday, one of Ms. Rice’s harshest critics during the Benghazi episode, Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, called for her to be replaced. “When I hear her on television talking about a world event, I can’t believe anything she tells me,” he said to Newsmax TV. Another vocal critic, Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona, said Ms. Rice should “stay off the Sunday talk shows.” |
Ms. Rice got into trouble on ABC’s “This Week” last Sunday when the host, George Stephanopoulos, asked her about reports that Sergeant Bergdahl had deserted his post. “He served the United States with honor and distinction,” she replied. “And we’ll have the opportunity eventually to learn what has transpired in the past years.” | Ms. Rice got into trouble on ABC’s “This Week” last Sunday when the host, George Stephanopoulos, asked her about reports that Sergeant Bergdahl had deserted his post. “He served the United States with honor and distinction,” she replied. “And we’ll have the opportunity eventually to learn what has transpired in the past years.” |
On Tuesday, the White House press secretary, Jay Carney, defended Ms. Rice’s characterization, but offered a more nuanced variation of it. “Sergeant Bergdahl put on the uniform of the United States voluntarily and went to war,” he said. “For the United States, voluntarily. That takes honor, and it is a mark of distinction.” | On Tuesday, the White House press secretary, Jay Carney, defended Ms. Rice’s characterization, but offered a more nuanced variation of it. “Sergeant Bergdahl put on the uniform of the United States voluntarily and went to war,” he said. “For the United States, voluntarily. That takes honor, and it is a mark of distinction.” |
White House officials have strongly supported Ms. Rice, saying that she had been targeted by critics with a vehemence unlike that directed at most of Mr. Obama’s senior aides. Friends note that Ms. Rice’s speaking style is blunt — a quality that can be refreshing, but can also trip her up in the tricky crosscurrents of Washington. | White House officials have strongly supported Ms. Rice, saying that she had been targeted by critics with a vehemence unlike that directed at most of Mr. Obama’s senior aides. Friends note that Ms. Rice’s speaking style is blunt — a quality that can be refreshing, but can also trip her up in the tricky crosscurrents of Washington. |
For months after the Benghazi attack, and even after she moved into the West Wing, Ms. Rice, 49, has kept a low profile. Her influence on issues like the Middle East has been mostly behind the scenes. But in recent months, she has become more visible, delivering speeches and traveling with the president to Asia and Europe. | For months after the Benghazi attack, and even after she moved into the West Wing, Ms. Rice, 49, has kept a low profile. Her influence on issues like the Middle East has been mostly behind the scenes. But in recent months, she has become more visible, delivering speeches and traveling with the president to Asia and Europe. |
In Malaysia in April, she met with the opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim in place of Mr. Obama. Last November, she held a tense meeting with President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan over his refusal to sign a long-term security agreement with the United States. And she recently traveled to Israel for meetings about security issues, including the Iran nuclear talks. | In Malaysia in April, she met with the opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim in place of Mr. Obama. Last November, she held a tense meeting with President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan over his refusal to sign a long-term security agreement with the United States. And she recently traveled to Israel for meetings about security issues, including the Iran nuclear talks. |
On Friday, Ms. Rice repeated her plea that people not rush to judgment of Sergeant Bergdahl. But she also said that the military would investigate his conduct, and that he could face consequences — a shift from her earlier suggestion that he had already “paid an extraordinary price.” | On Friday, Ms. Rice repeated her plea that people not rush to judgment of Sergeant Bergdahl. But she also said that the military would investigate his conduct, and that he could face consequences — a shift from her earlier suggestion that he had already “paid an extraordinary price.” |
“If there is a consequence that results from that, that will be delivered, but in the meantime, let’s remember this is a young man who volunteered to serve his country,” she said. “He was taken as a prisoner of war. He suffered in captivity. He’s now trying to begin the process of recovery.” | “If there is a consequence that results from that, that will be delivered, but in the meantime, let’s remember this is a young man who volunteered to serve his country,” she said. “He was taken as a prisoner of war. He suffered in captivity. He’s now trying to begin the process of recovery.” |