Rice and Baker will probably work together on Iraq

"Over the past two months Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and the national security adviser, Stephen J. Hadley, quietly steered the White House toward replacing Donald H. Rumsfeld with Mr. [Robert] Gates, who had worked closely with Ms. Rice under the first President Bush.
. . . Ms. Rice and Mr. Rumsfeld never managed to resolve their differences, especially after their arguments over the handling of the occupation came into public view in late summer 2003.
. . . Together with Ms. Rice, Mr. Gates is expected to have to put into action recommendations by the [James Baker] study group that are likely to call for initiatives involving European allies and Iraq’s neighbors in the Middle East. The new plans are expected to mix diplomacy, the training of Iraqi troops and the use of American force to quell the violence in Baghdad, and to require close coordination between the Departments of State and Defense."

source
The New York Times. In Gates Selection, White House Hopes to Close Rift Between State and Defense. November 12, 2006.

posted: monday, november 13, 2006, 2:37 AM ET