The U. S. Secretary of state is a senior official in the federal government, heading up foreign affairs.
He or she is appointed by the president with consent of the Senate.
The secretary of state is a member of the president’s cabinet, the National Security Council, and is the highest ranking apointed official in theexecutive branch.
That being said, President Obama may appoint Susan Rice as secretary of state.
She is currently ambassador to the United Nations and a close associate to Obama.
She gave bogus information concerning the Benghazi, Libya killings on five Sunday television shows, blaming it on a YouTube video, when it was actually a terrorist attack.
Beyond this fiasco, she was also quite involved in other fiascos in Africa some two decades ago. She was assistant secretary for Africa policy in 1997. Peter Rosenblum of Columbia University, wrote the best account of Rice’s time in that office. In 1998, Rice had an opportunity to prove her mettle when sent to mediate a peace plan between warring Ethiopia and Enitrea. She announced the terms of a plan agreed to by Ehiopia, suggesting that Enitrea would have to accept it before they approved it. An angry response resulted, rejecting the plan and heaping abuse on Rice. Ethiopia then bombed Enitrea.
Rice was immediately brought back to Washington after negotiations collapsed. Madeleine Albright was furious, and Rice was put on probation, and kept in D.C. She misread the situation completely. Rice had actually lectured them on how to behave, and having a public tantrum when they didn’t act the way she wanted. Some 100,000 people perished in the war that Rice so ineptly failed to end.
Does this sound like a person to be appointed Secretary of State of the U.S.? Let your Senator know your thoughts on this soon.