Rice: Right to invade Iraq

2005-01-18 22:14

Washington - US President George W Bush's administration knew it would face difficult challenges in Iraq but the decision to invade the country was the right one, secretary of state nominee Condoleezza Rice said on Tuesday.

The toppling of Saddam Hussein's regime and the establishment of a democracy in the Middle East would help bring reform to the troubled region, Rice said during a senate hearing on her nomination to replace secretary of state Colin Powell.

"This was never going to be easy; it was always going to have ups and downs," said Rice, 50, who currently serves as Bush's national security adviser.

"The strategic decision to overthrow Saddam Hussein was the right one."

Rice defended the size of the US force that invaded the country, saying Bush received "good military advice" despite widespread criticism that the force was too small to maintain order once the regime collapsed or prevent the rapidly growing insurgency.

Rice faced some tough questioning on Iraq, namely from Massachusetts senator John Kerry, who lost his bid in November to unseat Bush.

Kerry said that although senate approval of Rice's nomination is assured, he had "reservations" about voting to support the former Stanford University professor and Soviet expert.

Kerry said he was "disturbed" that Rice believes the American presence in Iraq following the invasion was sufficient and that the administration she advised has not been straightforward about the challenges in Iraq.

Rice acknowledged that difficult problems lie ahead in Iraq, but pointed to the January 30 elections as a key step in moving forward while also saying that it was not the final one.

"We do have some big tactical challenges to get to the strategic goals that we have," she said.

- SAPA