Rice Wary of Seeking Iran, Syria's Help

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, left, talks with National Security Adviser Steve Hadley in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2006 as President Bush met with Costa Rican President Oscar Arias Sanchez, not shown. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais) (Pablo Martinez Monsivais - AP)

WASHINGTON -- Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice voiced skepticism on Friday over a bipartisan panel's recommendation that the United States seek Iran and Syria's help to stabilize Iraq, saying they should want to take such steps on their own.

If those two nations truly want to help, "they will act on that because it's in their interest," Rice said.

"Let's remember that the issue here is behavior. Can you change the behavior of these states?" she asked at a news conference at the State Department with the German foreign minister.

Rice also said the United States is making progress toward a deal on imposing United Nations sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program although "we're not there yet" after a disappointing round of talks among world powers this week.

Rice was asked about recommendations issued on Wednesday by a panel headed by Republican James A. Baker III and Democrat Lee Hamilton calling for withdrawal of most U.S. combat troops from Iraq by early 2008. The panel also called for overtures to Iran and Syria, a course the Bush administration has thus far rejected.

The report cited a grave and deteriorating situation in Iraq.

"None of us see the situation in Iraq as favorable. We all see it as extremely difficult," Rice said.

She said the situation in Iraq and the broader Middle East was high on the agenda of her talks with German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

As to the effort to impose sanctions on Iran for refusing to abandon the enrichment of uranium, Rice said, "I think we're making some progress on the resolution in the Security Council. We're not there yet, but I do think we're making some progress."

Of the Baker-Hamilton report, Rice said it was "a very good report by people that I admire. I think they have done a great service in pointing out, through analysis and recommendations, how they see the situation in Iraq."

She said the U.S. needs to give Iraq "better tools, particularly on the security side," as the report suggests.

"I've been doing some deep thinking on Iraq, which if you don't mind I'll share first with the president as he begins to think about what new course we need," Rice said.