Iron fist in a velvet glove

Be it in Europe or in Asia, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has more than filled the shoes of her predecessor Colin Powell

Kaushik Kapisthalam Atlanta

When US President George W Bush tapped his then national security advisor Condoleezza Rice to be his chief diplomat after winning a second term in November 2004, Washington circles were sceptical about the pick. As a successor to outgoing secretary of state Colin Powell, it was felt that Rice would have big shoes to fill. While Condi, as she is known, is known to have Bush's ear, Washington insiders felt that she would lack the rapport that Powell had with America's allies and foes alike. It now appears that Condi has worked quickly to dispel any doubts about her diplomatic skills while stamping her own imprint on Foggy Bottom, Washington's equivalent of New Delhi's South Block.

After a whirlwind trip to Europe that took the continent by storm, Rice completed a critical trip to Asia, with stops in India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Japan, China and South Korea. That Rice's plate was full of critical and thorny issues indicates that she was willing to take up all the challenges without wasting too much time.

Condi's primary mission seems to have been to tackle the twin Asian nuclear crises in North Korea and Iran. With Pyongyang pulling out of the six-party nuclear talks in the Korean peninsula, Washington hardliners now want Rice to pressurise China to get North Korea back to the table. Beijing has long insisted that it does not have as powerful a leverage over North Korea as it is perceived to have, but that argument seems to be finding fewer takers in Washington. To add to the problems, US policymakers feel that South Korea seems to be moving towards a direction of constantly appeasing its northern neighbour and Rice is expected to carry a tough message to them to come on board.

US-Japanese relations seem to be headed for a major renaissance and Rice's Tokyo visit appears to further cement the ties. There seems to be a consonance in how Tokyo and Washington feel towards China of late. The US and Japan recently released a joint security statement that made it clear that they both oppose any Chinese military action on Taiwan and indicated that they will provide military assistance to Taiwan should Beijing try and take the island militarily. Experts feel that this was a significant statement and for the first time it officially shows the unease that China's neighbours feel about the Dragon's rapid military advancement. Rice is also expected to convey a blunt warning to Chinese leaders on the need for China to give its people more freedom as their economic situation improves.

Nowhere would Rice have been more welcomed perhaps than in New Delhi. Since 9/11, South Block mandarins as well as the wider Indian strategic community have developed a visceral dislike of Colin Powell for various reasons, not the least among which is Powell's overt cozying up with Pakistan and its dictator General Pervez Musharraf. To add to New Delhi's anger, Powell also kept pressing the wrong buttons like, for instance, his negligence to mention the US' granting of the major non-NATO ally military status to Pakistan in 2004 while he was visiting India just hours before. Powell's repeated interviews taking the credit for preventing war between India and Pakistan in 2002 after Pakistani terrorists attacked the Indian parliament on December 13, 2001 also grated Indian nerves.