Interview on KTVX-TV With Chris VanocurSecretary Condoleezza RiceSalt Lake City, Utah August 29, 2006 QUESTION: Tell me something about SECRETARY RICE: Well, QUESTION: You almost sound like you've got a certain affection for SECRETARY RICE: I do. When I went to Iraq the first time, I flew back out over Iraq and you see that it is a country with so much potential: two great rivers, the Tigris and the Euphrates coming together, green land that was once a breadbasket for the whole region, of course, the fortune of oil and really a great and tough, gritty people. When I meet Iraqis, many leaders who have lost their own family members because the terrorists have killed their family members because these leaders are a part of the united Iraqi Government, I know that these are people who want a unified future and they're willing to sacrifice for it. I acknowledge how difficult it is and I see our own sacrifice and I mourn every day our own sacrifices. We're doing it in common cause with a people who deserve a better future than they've had in the past. QUESTION: I think I've heard that answer before, so I'll move on. You had breakfast with our Governor, I believe. Would Jon Huntsman make a good Secretary of State? SECRETARY RICE: Jon Huntsman can do anything he wants. He would be a great Secretary of State. We worked together in the Administration, but we talked a lot about QUESTION: Mary Anne. SECRETARY RICE: -- Mary Anne played for me and that – she’s fantastic. She and her piano teacher did a rendition of the Rachmaninoff’s Second Piano Concerto that was just heavenly. QUESTION: You anticipated my next question because I read that article that was in The New York Times. Someday, maybe when you're no longer in this job, would you like to play with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir? SECRETARY RICE: Oh, wouldn't that be fantastic. I've listened to them since I was a little kid and obviously it would be great. I've spent a bit of time here in QUESTION: How are we doing on time? STAFF: You have about three minutes. QUESTION: Wow. Why hasn't Usama bin Laden caught? SECRETARY RICE: Well, it's hard to find someone who's willing to hide in caves and doesn't communicate very much and it's obviously something that we devote a great deal of time to is trying to locate Usama bin Laden. We have located and taken out of action in one way another an awful lot of his field generals and lieutenants, the people who actually run these operations for al-Qaida. QUESTION: But isn't the President the one who said we'd get him dead or alive? SECRETARY RICE: Eventually, we will. The QUESTION: Final 10-second question. Any regrets about not getting the NFL Commissioner job? SECRETARY RICE: (Laughter.) Just came up a little too early. I had to let that ship come in and leave, I'm afraid. But there are other great sports jobs and after I'm done with this, we'll see what else is out there. QUESTION: Thank you very much for your time. SECRETARY RICE: Thank you very much. 2006/T21-9 Released on August 30, 2006 |