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Interview With Andrea Mitchell of NBC News

Secretary Condoleezza Rice
Berlin, Germany
January 17, 2007

QUESTION: Madame Secretary, thank you very much for giving us this time. You've just gotten some support from the Arab leaders, but Americans and, in fact, Iraqis who are suffering so much in this war would really like to know what tangibly are the Arab neighbors going to do.

SECRETARY RICE: The Arab neighbors did support the idea, the goal of a unified Iraq that is at peace with itself and at peace with its neighbors. I think they already have tried to aid in bringing Sunni participation into the political process. They are part of what's called the International Compact for Iraq, which is a set of reciprocal duties of the international community and Iraq, and I think will work through that Compact. We'd like them to be engaged in financial assistance and particularly in debt relief, and I think that they've begun some of those discussions.

QUESTION: Discussions, but people are dying, hundreds of billions of dollars are owed by Iraq to Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, wealthy states. At the very least they could do that. And what can they do to try to control some of the political in-fighting from among their own Sunni?

SECRETARY RICE: Well, certainly in terms of supporting the political process, the national reconciliation process, there are duties that the Iraqis have and that's principally it. They have to decide what kind of country they're going to have to be, what they want to be. They're going to have to decide on a national oil law. I think they're very close to doing that. They're going to have to decide on changing their de-Baathification procedures.

But clearly, the Arab states, who I think now are reaching out to Sunni communities -- it's important to remember, Andrea, that there are tribal and kinship ties across international boundaries and borders in the Middle East. And I think they are reaching out to those people and trying to get them to be more involved in the political process. The Arab League has talked about and I think will hold a reconciliation conference with Iraq, and I think that could be a very important step.

But really, I asked them to reinforce Iraq's identity and its place in the Arab world, and I think you'll see more diplomacy aimed at that.

QUESTION: But we're told by the Foreign Minister that the Amir in Kuwait suggested to you that you really should be dealing with Iran and Syria. You flew over Baghdad today. I know you've been there before, flew over Baghdad, you don't go to Beirut. You don't deal with Iran and Syria. Half the Middle East is sort of -- well, not Iraq, of course --

SECRETARY RICE: Andrea, I've been to Beirut several times and I will go again when it's helpful to go. But as for Iran and Syria, we've made our positions very clear. On Syria, Syria is engaged in activities that it knows is destabilizing. When Syria sends a signal, some signals that it intends to --

QUESTION: Isn't it time to reach out now? There are lots of--

SECRETARY RICE: I would certainly hope that we would see more than the Syrians simply continuing to allow terrorists to cross their territory. I would certainly hope that we would see real support for the Palestinians who believe in a peace between Israel and the Palestinians, and most importantly, in Lebanon where Syrian allies are literally in the streets trying to bring down the Siniora government. This isn't the time to engage Syria.

And as for Iran, this is a time when Iran every day is more and more in violation of international responsibilities and international demands. Iran knows how it can engage with the United States. It only has to suspend its enrichment, something that has been demanded by the international community.

QUESTION: What are they doing inside Iraq? What specifically are your concerns about Iran inside Iraq?

SECRETARY RICE: Well, the concern inside Iraq is that there are literally networks supported by, perhaps trained by, financed by Iran and the Revolutionary Guard, that are developing these explosive devices that are just lethal to our forces, that they are engaged with militias, some of which are part of these death squads that are killing innocent Iraqis. There's nothing wrong with Iran having a relationship with Iraq. And the Iraqis are pursuing that relationship. But it ought to be a transparent one and it shouldn't be, certainly, one that is destabilizing to Iraqi unity.

QUESTION: Wouldn't this be the time, now given protests against Ahmadi-Nejad, the students, wouldn't this be the time to reach out to Iran?

SECRETARY RICE: Well, it may say, Andrea, that Iran is -- some Iranians are finally getting the message about their isolation from the international community.

QUESTION: But the American rhetoric, the President's rhetoric could only exacerbate the problem and force Iranians to rally around the --

SECRETARY RICE: Well, I see an Iran in which we're getting little snippets, not a great deal so far, but a little bit that perhaps, there are some in Iran who recognize the cost of the policies of Ahmadi-Nejad. It isn't fitting for a state in the international system to talk about the destruction, wiping off the map another member of the United Nations, Israel. It isn't fitting for Iran to seek a nuclear weapon and refuse to live with the demands of the international community. And perhaps there are some who are beginning to see that these policies are destructive.

QUESTION: So with the French, since the French seem to be trying to reach out to Tehran -- I know our time --

SECRETARY RICE: Well, I don't -- France will make their own decisions.

QUESTION: I know we have very little time. Let me ask you about North Korea. You've been briefed. The talks, are they going anywhere? Is there any chance of reaching some sort of agreement with North Korea on nuclear weapons?

SECRETARY RICE: Well, Chris Hill -- Assistant Secretary Hill has been engaged since the last round of six-party talks in --

QUESTION: Here in Berlin?

SECRETARY RICE: Yes, here with his North Korean colleague. He has met with his South Korean colleague recently, with the Japanese recently in Washington. I think he will probably go and meet with the Chinese as well very soon. This is a part of trying to prepare the grounds so that the six-party talks, when they resume, might really be fruitful, but this is a process.

QUESTION: Any sign that they are about to test a nuclear --

SECRETARY RICE: Well, we even thought that during the six-party talks, there were some productive discussions. This is a process and I hope we'll make progress soon.

QUESTION: We have about a minute left. Let me ask you about the Middle East, the Middle East process that you started. The next step, how quickly can you get this going and isn't time running out?

SECRETARY RICE: Well, we certainly want to begin these informal discussions as soon as possible, but again, I think there's some preparation to do for that. But there will be now a kind of steady stream of diplomacy concerning the Middle East. I am here in Germany because Germany is the president of the European Union and I think the European Union plays a very important role and as a member of the Quartet, an important role.

I'm going to invite the members of the Quartet to Washington during -- toward the end of the week of January 29th because it's very important that the Quartet really reenergize its efforts on behalf of the Middle East peace.

QUESTION: Just before I let you go, while all this has been going on, really extraordinary developments back home. What do you think is the impact on young boys and girls around America to have Barack Obama now running for President? What does a little girl in Birmingham, like you were in the 60s, think looking at this?

SECRETARY RICE: Well, I think the wonderful thing is that America is a country that comes to terms with its old wounds. It takes time and I've said before, nobody thinks that this country, our country, is colorblind. It's not. But I suspect that when Americans make their decisions now about whether a black man, a black woman will be President, that they'll do it on the basis of, do I agree with this person, what do I think of this person's values, are their interests like mine, and that they'll be able to overcome the question of race.

And I think this is a really remarkable development in a country that has been so torn by race, really so recently in our history. And it says to me, Andrea, that when we look out and we think that it's not possible for others to overcome old differences, that we ought to think twice about our own experience.

QUESTION: Thank you very much, Madame Secretary.

SECRETARY RICE: Thank you.

2007/T1-12



Released on January 17, 2007

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