| |  Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
 Dr. Condoleezza Rice became the 66th Secretary of State on January 26, 2005. As she stated at her confirmation hearing, "we must use American diplomacy to help create a balance of power in the world that favors freedom. And the time for diplomacy is now." In her remarks at Princeton University on September 30, 2005, Secretary Rice spoke of supporting democratic aspirations: "Now, to support democratic aspirations, we must be serious about the universal appeal of certain basic rights. When given a truly free choice, human beings will choose liberty over oppression; the right to own property over random search and seizure. Human beings will choose the natural right to life over the constant fear of death. And human beings will choose to be ruled by the consent of the governed, not by the coercion of the state; by the rule of law, not the whim of rulers. These principles should be the source of justice in every society and the basis for peace between all states."
The Secretary's objective of transformational diplomacy, articulated in remarks at the Georgetown School of Foreign Service, is to " work with our many partners around the world to build and sustain democratic, well-governed states that will respond to the needs of their people -- and conduct themselves responsibly in the international system...Transformational diplomacy is rooted in partnership, not paternalism -- in doing things with other people, not for them. We seek to use America's diplomatic power to help foreign citizens to better their own lives, and to build their own nations, and to transform their own futures...Now, to advance transformational diplomacy all around the world, we in the State Department must rise to answer a new historic calling. We must begin to lay new diplomatic foundations to secure a future of freedom for all people. Like the great changes of the past, the new efforts we undertake today will not be completed tomorrow. Transforming the State Department is the work of a generation. But it is urgent work that cannot be deferred."
In remarks at the White House Conference on the Americas the Secretary said: "The eyes of the world have always turned to the Americas, and now they turn to us again. Today, as in centuries past, we embody not only the dreams of our citizens, but also the dreams of people across the globe - in places like Burma and Zimbabwe, Afghanistan and Iraq, and sadly here in our own hemisphere, still in Cuba. They embody the dreams of impatient patriots who think that if democratic development can work for us, then it can work for them - who believe that the promise of liberty and opportunity is a universal desire, and a universal vision - open to every person, in every land, at every time." | | | Highlights |  Sign up for Secretary's Remarks email updates.
Rescue of Hostages from FARC Captivity
(July 2): " We congratulate President Uribe and the Colombian military on the success of the operation that resulted in the safe rescue of 15 hostages, including Americans Marc Gonsalves, Thomas Howes and Keith Stansell, and French-Colombian citizen Ingrid Betancourt." Full Text
Secretary Rice Visits China
(June 29): "We do very much have a large agenda, as is befitting the United States and China. It is a relationship that needs to work well if we are to be able to address the many challenges in international politics. And so, our discussions of the six-party talks and how to move forward on verification and monitoring so that we can get to the abandonment of North Korea’s nuclear weapons and the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula has been a – one of our elements of our conversation and I’m sure we will have further discussion." Full Text | Remarks with Press
Travel to Germany, Japan, South Korea, and China
Secretary Rice traveled June 23-30 to Germany, Japan, the Republic of Korea, and the People’s Republic of China. |
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