Rice to deliver "major" policy address today

More than 3,000 people will gather at Jadwin Gymnasium this afternoon to hear Condoleezza Rice, the 66th Secretary of State and the first African-American woman to hold the post, deliver what is being billed as a "major foreign policy address."

More than 2,000 students, faculty and staff — including all those who entered a lottery for seats — and more than 1,000 Wilson School graduate and undergraduate alumni will attend the event.

Coinciding with Rice's visit are several protests hosted by a coalition of Princeton groups, including the College Democrats, the Black Graduate Caucus, Student Global AIDS Campaign and the Princeton-based Coalition for Peace Action.

Students from the coalition groups will be handing out red ribbons to express their concern about the AIDS situation in Africa. Some protesters also plan to mimic Iraqi prisoners tortured at Abu Ghraib, according to a statement from a group calling itself the Princeton Democratic Left.

In the Borough, Congressmen Rush Holt and Frank Pallone are scheduled to make appearances at another protest.

The secretary will deliver "a major foreign policy address following on the Cairo speech," Wilson School Dean Anne-Marie Slaughter '80 said in an interview Thursday, referring to a June address in which Rice called on Middle East nations to embrace freedom and democracy.

Rice was invited to deliver the address, which is part of the Wilson School's 75th anniversary kickoff, because "Woodrow Wilson stood for democracy throughout the world," Slaughter said. "We invited her precisely because there is a tremendous overlap, at least rhetorically, between Wilson and Bush."

Asked whether she saw any irony in inviting the chief diplomat of an administration that has often rejected multilateral diplomacy to celebrate the legacy of a president who championed multilateral institutions, Slaughter — who has herself been sharply critical of President Bush — said she did not.

Rice has "strongly spoken about institutions," Slaughter said. "It is not accidental that the Bush administration is working through the six-party talks in North Korea and the [International Atomic Energy Agency] in Iran," she added.

Robert Keohane, an international affairs professor in the Wilson School, noted that recent actions and remarks by Rice and other top administrative officials have signaled a more multilateral approach.

"The failure of the Iraq policy has left an opening for a more cooperative, alliance-oriented policy," Keohane said, pointing to the administration's changed policy toward North Korea and Iran, along with Rice's trip to Europe, which was widely seen by observers as an attempt to mend fences. "The administration is chastened by its failures in Iraq, and Rice is adapting to that."

Though the Wilson School has been described as a left-leaning institution, Slaughter noted that Rice has demonstrated she is "remarkably willing to reach out to people who disagree with her."

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"She herself is an academic and is used to robust debate," Slaughter said, referring to Rice's service as Stanford's provost, a position she held before leaving in 2001 to become President Bush's national security adviser. "There is a willingness on her part to engage with a range of views, which is what her emphasis on democracy is all about."

International relations scholar and politics professor Joanne Gowa said Rice's remarks would likely be watched by a diverse group. "I think all U.S. citizens, whether or not they support the war in Iraq, would like to know the president's exit strategy," she said.

Indeed, the audience promises to be mixed, with campus Democratic and Republican groups each staking out their own positions on the Rice visit.

"We all know that the insurgency continues to hinder the stability and development in Iraq. And we all know about the HIV/AIDS epidemic and the conflict in Darfur," said College Democrats President Frances Schendle '06, who is organizing a protest outside Jadwin Gym. "The students in tomorrow's audience want to know specifically what Secretary Rice is going to do about it."

Schendle called on Rice to "go beyond vague statements about our nation's mission in the world," saying, "She will have to explain when, where and why we will intervene."

Criticism of Rice was stronger from other parts of the campus liberal community.

"I'd like her to get up there and say, 'I was wrong, I lied to the American people, and I'm resigning,' but I know that's not going to happen," said Asheesh Siddique '07, coeditor of the liberal publication Princeton Progressive Nation. "Instead, she's going to make excuses for her and her colleagues' incompetence and dishonesty."

"I don't believe there's much she can say to convince otherwise skeptical Princetonians that Bush's Iraq policy is a good one," added Siddique, who made a name for himself organizing the Frist Filibuster last semester. "I say this because she has no credibility."

Campus Republicans, meanwhile, were quick to point out that the protestors represent just a subset of Princeton students.

"I think there will be a small but vocal group of people who will address their views vocally and perhaps disrespectfully," said Dylan Hogarty '06, College Republicans president. "I don't think they speak for the vast majority of Princetonians."

He added, "My hope is that tomorrow will be about honoring the Woodrow Wilson School, listening to what she has to say, and thoughtfully discussing it rather than making a lot of noise and trying to detract from the event."

Also on campus this weekend for the kickoff celebrations are Lt. Gen. David Petraeus GS '85 '87 and Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff, both of whom will deliver speeches Saturday.