BESIEGED: UN Ambassador Susan Rice was facing criticism over the Benghazi attack. (
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WASHINGTON — Embattled Ambassador Susan Rice abruptly withdrew her name from consideration to become the next secretary of state yesterday — three months after her discredited explanation of the deadly terror attack on US diplomats in Libya ignited a firestorm of criticism.
Rice, the US ambassador to the United Nations — and a confidante of President Obama — wrote him to say she wanted to avoid a bruising confirmation battle in the Senate.
“That trade-off is simply not worth it to our country,” she said in a letter released late yesterday.
Obama responded by praising Rice’s work and character and blasting “the unfair and misleading attacks” on her.
Rice, who was Obama’s foreign policy adviser during his first presidential campaign, was widely seen as a front-runner for the job after Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s expected resignation next month.
Rice went on a series of TV news shows and repeatedly claimed the Sept. 11 attack on the US Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, that killed Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans was the result of a “spontaneous” demonstration over an anti-Mohammed film made in the United States.
Her Sept. 16 comments, coming at a key point in the presidential campaign, were slammed by Republicans who cited evidence that the attack was a planned terrorist attack.
Rice responded by saying she was relying only on preliminary and sketchy US intelligence, which she said was the best information available at the time.
GOP senators who had threatened to block Rice’s promotion during confirmation hearings next month, said her withdrawal would not end the controversy.
“I respect Ambassador Rice’s decision,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC). “President Obama has many talented people to choose from to serve as our next secretary of a state.”
“When it comes to Benghazi, I am determined to find out what happened before, during and after the attack.”
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) made similar remarks.
Rice’s decision was a surprise in light of Obama’s vow to defend her.
“If Senator McCain and Senator Graham and others want to go after someone, they should go after me,” he said late last month. “When they go after the UN ambassador, apparently because they think she’s an easy target, then they’ve got a problem with me.”
But Rice’s attempt to mollify critics during a visit to Capitol Hill last month raised more questions about the Libya attack.
Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) is now seen as the leading candidate to replace Clinton.
In her letter to Obama, Rice said she would continue in her UN post. Obama replied that he was grateful she was staying.
But the White House is believed to be interested in shifting her post, possibly national security adviser, which does not require Senate confirmation.