Rice Deserves ‘Serious Consideration’ for Secretary of State, Says Global Security Expert
Sean Kay
President Barack Obama “may yet select a wildcard candidate as his next secretary of state,” Sean Kay, Ph.D., an internationally recognized expert on global security, writes in a new commentary in “Foreign Policy. “And there remains a strong case to be made for other serious candidates for this position – particularly Sen. John Kerry – all of whom would serve America with distinction.
“But [U.N. Ambassador Susan] Rice merits the respect that her service and qualifications deserve,” continues Kay, a professor at Ohio Wesleyan University, “and it is to Obama’s credit that he has stood by her and recognized her achievements. It is entirely appropriate that her name is under serious consideration.”
Kay, author of “Global Security in the Twenty-First Century: The Quest for Power and the Search for Peace (second edition),” also writes that “Rice’s record has plenty of room for serious questions and opportunities for her to explain. But to assert even before a nominee is announced that they are ‘unqualified’ – as Sen. John McCain did this week – is not becoming of the great traditions of the Senate.”
Read, like and share Kay’s full Nov. 16 Foreign Policy commentary, “Throwing Rice.”
Kay is a politics and government professor and director of international studies at Ohio Wesleyan University, a Mershon Associate at the Mershon Center for International Security Studies at The Ohio State University, and a fellow in foreign policy and national security at the Eisenhower Institute in Washington, D.C. He is quoted frequently on international issues in outlets including The New York Times, Bloomberg News, CNN Fortune, The Atlantic, and RTE.
Founded in 1842, Ohio Wesleyan University is one of the nation’s premier small, private universities. Ohio Wesleyan offers more than 90 undergraduate majors, sequences, and courses of study, and 23 NCAA Division III varsity sports. OWU combines an internationally focused curriculum with off-campus learning and leadership opportunities that connect classroom theory with real-world practice. Located in Delaware, Ohio, OWU’s 1,850 students represent 41 states and 45 countries. The university is featured in the book “Colleges That Change Lives,” listed on the 2012 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll with distinction, and included on the “best colleges” lists of U.S. News & World Report and The Princeton Review. Learn more at www.owu.edu.