Rice thanks Camp Pendleton troops for service

[thedrifter]

Rice thanks Camp Pendleton troops for service

By: MARK WALKER - Staff Writer

CAMP PENDLETON -- Allies in the war on terror came together Wednesday to thank Marines and sailors for their service in as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer made an afternoon visit to Camp Pendleton.

"I know you have deployed a lot, but I want you to know that you are deployed on behalf of a grateful nation," Rice told about four dozen troops gathered inside a base helicopter hangar.

Rice said the war on terror is a "generational struggle" that began with the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.


"It's sometimes hard to wonder if we are having the success that we should be having, but just remember that history has a long tale, not a short one," she said.

While progress in Iraq and Afghanistan can seem frustratingly slow, Rice maintained that advances are being made and that losses of U.S. troops are never easy and never forgotten.

"When you go into harm's way and lose one of your comrades or soul mates, I know it is hard," she said. "We value every sacrifice -- the sacrifices you are making and your families are making -- but nothing of value is ever won without sacrifice."

Americans of every political stripe also stand by the armed services, she said.

"No matter where you stand on the war in Iraq, everyone supports you."

The first to greet Rice as she stepped off a U.S. government jet was Lt. Gen. James Mattis, the commander of Camp Pendleton's I Marine Expeditionary Force who just returned from a two-week swing through the Middle East.

After the troop greeting, Mattis played host and tour guide as Rice and Downer viewed infantry training and took part in meetings with other commanders such as the man in charge of Marine Corps facilities throughout the West, Maj. Gen. Michael Lehnert.

For troops such as Sgt. Karen Quiles who got the chance to meet Rice during the 25 minutes she mingled with them, the meeting left her with an indelible impression of a national leader.

"It means a lot when a senior official wants to come out and thank you," said Quiles, a 24-year-old Puerto Rico native who works in aircraft administration and is scheduled to deploy overseas in a few months. "She reminded us of why we are here and what we are doing and how important it is."

Neither Rice nor Downer took any questions from dozens of reporters in attendance. The media were restricted to viewing the event and recording the remarks of the two leaders.

The stop at Camp Pendleton was a part of what the State Department called a "hometown visit" to allow her and Downer to meet with the troops. Rice's appearance follows visits by President Bush in December 2004 and Vice President Dick Cheney in July of that year.

During his remarks, Downer said Australia's support for America has not always played well among his nation's people.

"It's politically tough going both here and in Australia, there's been a lot of political controversy," Downer said. "But all the great struggles in history have been tough, and there have been substantial sacrifices."

Australia has about 1,600 troops stationed throughout the Middle East.

Flight Lt. Dan Cassilles, an Australian Army soldier who has served two tours in Iraq and has been training at Camp Pendleton as part of an exchange program, also got a chance to shake hands with Rice and Downer.

Before coming to Camp Pendleton, Rice and Downer toured the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley. During remarks there, Rice lauded Australia for its work to smooth over relations between the U.S. and Iran.

"We have the really very strong support of Australia," Rice said. "Because Australia has diplomatic relations, it's been able to deliver those messages directly."

Downer said he has stressed to Iran that it should commit to stability in Iraq during talks set to begin Monday.

"I've made the point to the Iranians that they need to think about their long-term strategic interest in Iraq," he said. "They don't want to see the collapse of the present government."

Rice and Downer were scheduled to meet today with Hewlett-Packard executives in Palo Alto and tour an after-school enrichment program in Menlo Park that Rice started when she was a professor at nearby Stanford University in the 1990s.

-- The Associated Press contributed to this report. Contact staff writer Mark Walker at (760) 740-3529 or mlwalker@nctimes.com.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Some Q's, no A's from Rice

By: North County Times Opinion staff -

Our view: The questions we didn't get to ask the secretary of state

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice dropped by Camp Pendleton on Wednesday to give our Marines a pre-Memorial Day pep talk. That's quite appropriate and we salute her for it.

But in her quick visit, Rice chose not to speak with the media. We suspect there may be some questions the Marines, ever the gracious hosts, didn't get around to asking. Here are a few of ours:


Six years into the president's "war on terror," how much closer to victory do we stand?

Has the Iraq war you campaigned for and helped plan made our military and our Marines stronger or weaker from a readiness perspective?

Which of the Iraqi politicians you have met strike you as capable of leading that unstable democracy into the political compromises necessary to unite the country?

What role do you imagine U.S. Marines playing in the post-occupation Iraq? When and how do you anticipate that transition starting?

If Gen. Petraeus determines in September that the president's surge strategy isn't working, what's your diplomatic strategy?

After meeting with your Syrian counterpart earlier this month and before you meet the Iranian foreign minister on Monday, can you assess the relative wisdom and success of the Bush administration's half-decade-long refusal to negotiate with Iraq's neighbors?

Do those meetings mean you and the president have adopted any other recommendations of the Iraq Study Group that you initially rejected?

Has your policy about negotiating with terrorists changed? Do you consider Iran and Syria state sponsors of terrorism?

Given last summer's war between Hezbollah and Israel, the chaos and violence in the streets of the Gaza Strip and the battle between Lebanese forces and Islamist rebels, Iran's steady march toward nuclear-power status, Saudi Arabia's siding with Iraq's Sunni insurgents and characterization of our Iraq war as an "illegal occupation," it doesn't seem like President Bush's vision of a domino effect of a democratizing Middle East is any closer to reality than it was in 2001. Is that still your policy goal, and if so, how do you plan to achieve it?

Finally, has your Russian expertise delivered any diplomatic results visible in our relationship to our old adversary? Other than agreeing to use less belligerent rhetoric, were there any tangible benefits from your meeting with President Vladimir Putin last week?

Thank you, Madam Secretary. We'll be checking our e-mail for your response.

Ellie