Condi in Central Asia
Posted by Richard on October 14, 2005
Head over to Gateway Pundit for details of Condi’s trip through Central Asia that you’re not going to see on the nightly news. A trip on which she pushed openly for democracy and liberty in one authoritarian former Soviet republic after another. Here’s a taste:
After Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice made stops in Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and later to Tajikistan, she was not about to put up with any silliness from the Ex-Soviet Autocratic President of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, on Thursday!
After their opening remarks, the Kazakh Leader left his podium. That is when Condi chased him down and brought him back to the podium to answer reporter’s questions!
From the Q&A transcript and other stories cited, it sounds like Condi has been doing a masterful job of being charming, yet challenging and politely confrontational to her ex-Soviet autocrat hosts. She spoke clearly and directly about freedom with Nazarbayev uncomfortably at her side:
SECRETARY RICE: Andrea, I think if we were interested only in oil and the war on terrorism we would not be speaking in the way that we are about democracy here or in Saudi Arabia or throughout the Middle East.
And so quite clearly, while we do have interests in terms of resources and in terms of the struggle for terrorism, we have in no way allowed those interests to get in the way of our open and clear defense of freedom.
But she promoted freedom and democracy from a perspective of realism:
"Central Asia is a region that has not had a democratic past," Rice said after a meeting with Tajikistan’s authoritarian president, Imomali Rakhmonov. Like Nazarbayev, he is a wily veteran of the old Soviet hierarchy.
…
"The important issue is to take these countries where they are and see them make progress," Rice said.
I’ve expressed my admiration for Condi before in a post about her remarkable speech at American University in Cairo, one of the finest speeches I’ve ever read, and in a post about her strong commitment to the Second Amendment. If she were persuaded to run for President — Dick Morris has made it his mission, and there are multiple movements and groups to draft her — I’d be inclined to support her enthusiastically.
I don’t know anything about her thinking on economic and fiscal issues. But on fiscal matters, who could be worse than the current President? Well, virtually any Democrat, I suppose…
On social issues, I’m hopeful. Condi described herself as "mildly pro-choice," meaning, according to Morris (emphasis added), that "she opposes abortion but worries about government action to prevent it." Now, that suggests a state of mind and general approach to issues that warms the cockles of this libertarian’s heart. I like the idea of a president who worries about government action even to achieve a goal she desires.
Plus, she looks hot in a long black coat and boots.
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