Fear of Condi

Apprehensions Exceed Hopes on 'War Lady'

"US war lady appointed secretary of state," declared the Iranian newspaper Etemaad last week, according to the Islamic Republic News Agency.

The language might sound extreme, but many pundits in the international online media have been almost as harsh on national security adviser Condoleezza Rice's nomination to run the U.S. State Department.

Two sensationalist newspapers in Pakistan have dubbed her a "war queen." A commentator for Egypt's al-Akhbar, a state-controlled daily in Cairo, called her "most dangerous woman in the world." A cartoonist in Honduras depicts her accepting the new assignment while wearing an I Love War button.

Even Brazil's O Estado de Sao Paulo (in Portuguese), an influential, center-right daily often critical of that country's left-wing government, called Rice "an ideologue of the law of the jungle."

A BBC press survey found little positive reaction outside of Malaysia and Israel. It was left to some French commentators, critical but pragmatic, to suggest that whatever Rice's personal intentions, international realities might modify her hard-line policies.

The possibility of war in Iran is perhaps the common fear in the global chattering class.

The Greek daily Kathimerini said Rice's nomination means "no one can rule out" the use of U.S. military force against Iran, whose nuclear ambitions are the object of deep suspicion in Washington and Western Europe. An Australian cartoonist portrays Rice as an ominous nurse pushing a crippled Bush toward Iran.

In an interview with aljazeera.net, Abd al-Bari Atwan, editor of the London-based newspaper Al-Quds al-Arabi, didn't mention Iran specifically, but he almost certainly had the Middle East's most populous country in mind when he said, "we can now expect more wars and mayhem during the next four years."

Rice is also widely seen as more pro-Israel than departing Secretary of State Colin L. Powell. Rice's appointment is "great news" for Israel, according to Israel's Hebrew-language Yediot Aharonot, because "there is a chance for change in the State Department's traditional attitude to Israel: while White House officials have always tended to accommodate Israel for political or other considerations, State Department officials sought greater balance in their approach towards Israel and the Palestinians."

London's Daily Telegraph reported Sunday that Rice got her promotion after Powell told "President Bush that he wanted greater power to confront Israel over the stalled Middle East peace process."

The Telegraph reported that Powell wanted to stay on as Secretary of State for another year "because he saw the chance of progress on the [Israeli-Palestinian] peace process and wanted to see through the Iraqi elections."

The story noted that Powell's his letter of resignation was dated November 11, the day he had a meeting with Bush.

"According to White House officials, at the meeting Mr. Powell was not asked to stay on," the conservative daily reported. "Briefing reporters later, he [Powell] referred to 'fulsome discussions' -- diplomatic code for disagreements."

"The clincher came over the Mid-East peace process," said a recently retired state department official. "Powell thought he could use the credit he had banked as the president's 'good cop' in foreign policy to rein in Ariel Sharon [Israel's prime minister] and get the peace process going. He was wrong."