Susan Rice

Susan E. Rice (born November 1964) is the Ambassador to the United Nations for the Obama Administration. She previously served as an advisor to the Obama presidential campaign in 2008, and she had a fellowship at the Brookings Institution as "The Stephen and Barbara Friedman Endowed Fellow." Dr. Rice served as Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs under President William Jefferson Clinton from 1997 to 2001, and previously at the White House as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for African Affairs.

She received her Bachelor's degree from Stanford University and her D. Phil. (Ph.D.) in International Relations from New College, Oxford University, where she was a Rhodes Scholar.

Record at UN
As Ambassador to the UN, Ambassador Rice has defended and advocated for support for U.S. foreign policy decisions of the Obama Administration in consultation with Congress. Some of these decisions have been controversial.

She has defended U.S. policy regarding Israel on the following issues, among others:


 * 1) Inaction on the Goldstone report pertaining the Israeli attack of Gaza Dec. 2008-Jan. 2009;
 * 2) Inaction in response to the Israeli assault on the MV Marmara and the solidarity flotilla; and
 * 3) Veto of the UN's condemnation of the Israeli settlement growth/expansion.

Rice has also publicly supported U.S. intervention in Libya.

Rice objected to the actions of China and Russia by condemning their veto of a resolution calling on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step down in the midst of the civil unrest and repression in the country. "They put a stake in the heart of efforts to resolve this conflict peacefully," she told CNN. "The tragedy is for the people of Syria. We the United States are standing with the people of Syria. Russia and China are obviously with Assad." She added "They have . . . by their veto dramatically increased the risk of greater violence, and you've seen manifestations of that." .

Affiliations
Throughout her career, Rice has had numerous affiliations, including:
 * Council on Foreign Relations – member
 * Aspen Strategy Group – member
 * Internews former (2002) member of the board of directors
 * McKinsey and Company former consultant in Toronto
 * Intellibridge International former Managing Director and Principal in Washington, D.C.
 * Partnership for Public Service – Board of Governors
 * America Abroad Media Advisory Board

External articles

 * SUSAN E. RICE JOINS BOARD OF INTERNEWS, Internews, February 15, 2002.
 * Susan E. Rice, Accessed September 2006.