A Snake in the White House

A snake to lead the “snake pit,” as the National Security Council has been called, and take responsibility for foreign policy and American defense was still needed. Barack Obama is about to fix this with the Wednesday announcement of the nomination of Susan Rice as national security adviser. The official announcement will not be made until midday in Paris this Wednesday, but White House spokespeople deal in disclosing leaks ahead of time to mitigate shock.

Barack Obama chose someone close to him, a leading expert on foreign policy, to join his campaign in 2008, as opposed to Hillary Clinton. Incidentally, many in the U.S. continue to see racial bias at play, as Rice and Obama are among the rare black American leaders.

Susan Rice’s return to Washington was dreaded by many foreign diplomats, who don’t always appreciate her strong personality and directness. At the United Nations, where she has represented the Obama administration since 2009, Rice has also reached the limit of her power of persuasion. A Washington Post article recalled this limit this morning, describing exchanges with her Russian counterpart, Vitali Churkin, also not easygoing. Susan Rice asked him not to block a trip to the Syrian refugee camps in Jordan, while Churkin retorted that Americans always block trips to Palestine. For the record, Susan Rice is also the ambassador who, in 2012, considered the French plan in Mali “crap.” It was just before the French military intervention when the American diplomat, at first skeptical, had to defend the plan.

Susan Rice is also, of course, a snake for Republicans, who are still outraged over her “lies” after the consulate attack in Benghazi. Televised five days after the assault that cost the lives of four Americans, she indicated not having information suggesting a “premeditated” attack. Taking care to maintain their “Watergate,” Republicans prevented her nomination as secretary of state, but were not able to prevent her transfer to the White House, which does not require Senate confirmation.

Fans of Susan Rice can reassure themselves by reading the portrait of current titleholder, Tom Donilon, in Foreign Policy. One learns here that Obama’s current national security adviser has already settled into the “snake pit” powered by a hellish pace and work conditions. And all this for geostrategic results that still leave a lot to be desired.