TULSA--Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice took on foreign policy issues during remarks she made last week in Tulsa.America must continue to defend itself while helping heal failed states and vigorously promoting democracy, she said.
Dr. Rice spoke at two Tulsa Business Forum events sponsored by Oklahoma State University at Tulsa, and also spoke at an event at OSU in Stillwater.
Failed states and tyrannical governments are a grave source of danger for the United States, she said in a speech that touched on foreign, economic and a few lighthearted issues.
Dr. Rice was secretary of state during the administration of President George W. Bush, and served as national security advisor during the first four years of that administration.
Today, she is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and a political science professor at Stanford University.
Prior to joining the Bush administration, Dr. Rice was provost at Stanford.
The worst threats to the United States are the unstable countries that foster terrorism and other dangers, she said.
The former secretary of state said democracy is the only humane and legitimate form of government because it ensures individual rights and allows people to resolve differences peacefully.
America must continue to push democracy for those moral and practical reasons, she said.
Dr. Rice said the United States also has an integral part to play in resuscitating the global economy.
She said she can’t know how history will rate the George W. Bush administration, but that she hopes it is remembered for bringing hope and stability back to the country after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, fighting tyranny throughout the world and helping the poorest peoples.
She said she believes that suspected 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed should be tried outside of the United States, because, otherwise, he will take advantage of the spotlight to “put America on trial.”
The former secretary of state said Americans who travel abroad and commit or support acts of terrorism should be sought out.
“We have to have a view that says, if you are an American citizen who wishes to harm this country,” she commented, “that is more than a crime. That is an act of war.”
