Grenell to Newsmax: Rice Should Be Replaced at UN

U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice’s withdrawal from secretary of State consideration came after congressional and public criticism of her by leading conservatives.

One of her most vocal critics, Richard Grenell, former press spokesman for the U.S. mission to the U.N., feels vindicated by her withdrawal.

Grenell, as a blogger and commentator, has been critically reporting on Rice’s work for nearly four years.

“I’ve probably written more than 20 times on what she has failed to accomplish or when she has been unwilling to speak out,” Grenell told Newsmax.

“And I’ve been very clear she doesn’t deserve a promotion — she should be replaced in her job as U.S. ambassador to the U.N.”

Grenell was appointed by President George W. Bush in 2001 as Director of Communications and Public Diplomacy for the United States Permanent Representative to the United Nations, and served in that post for eight years.

“Ric worked for four U.S. ambassadors over an 8-year period and understands the political dynamic in New York as well as anybody,” former Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton told Newsmax on Friday.

“Knowing the arcana of the U.N. world gives him a clear advantage compared to most reporters who don’t see the behind-the-scene reality.”

In one of his many television appearances, Grenell spoke with Fox News’ Megyn Kelly about Rice back in February and called for her resignation over her handling of the crisis in Syria.

“Rice, as she has on many issues, has ignored Syria’s growing problems for too long,” he declared that day.

“Rather than speaking out immediately when the violence started, she stayed silent. Rather than calling for action, she did nothing.

“President Obama should ask for U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice’s resignation and replace her with someone tougher and more effective. If she won’t voluntarily resign, then she should be fired.”

Following her withdrawal from secretary of State consideration, Grenell told Newsmax on Friday: “I’ve watched Susan Rice’s career at the U.N. very closely and have been able to bring perspective to how well she’s done or how well she hasn’t done.

“I’ve consistently written about her tenure because I do understand that job, having served there for eight years, and I’ve tried to bring an insider’s perspective to how she’s doing.

“I’ve been concerned for quite some time that she all too often has been unwilling to speak out in defense of the United States or has been a weak negotiator for U.S. priority issues.”

Shortly before Rice withdrew from consideration, Grenell wrote on his website that while she had nothing to do with the events in Benghazi, when terrorists killed four American diplomatic personnel, she nevertheless appeared on five Sunday political talk shows and “mouthed talking points that weren’t true.

“We now know that the talking points did not match the intel reports, which she had complete access to.”

He also observed that “her failings and shortcomings before the Benghazi terrorist attacks have not received the attention they deserve.”

He cited “30 Reasons Why Susan Rice Shouldn’t Be Secretary of State,” among them:

Rice failed to lead the Security Council during Arab Spring protests in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen, and did not speak out on the Libya crisis until the French, British, and Arab League had done so.

She failed to support the Iranian opposition during their Green Revolution, failed to speak out when Iran was elected to the U.N. Women’s Commission, or when Col. Gaddafi’s Libya was elected to the U.N. Human Rights Commission.

Rice took 103 days to move the Security Council to issue a statement after a North Korean submarine sank a South Korean ship, took 18 days to lead the Security Council to action after a North Korean nuclear test (it took John Bolton five days in 2006), waited 17 months before voting on the one and only U.N. resolution on Iran that has passed during her tenure, and took more than two years to find someone to head America’s U.N reform team.

She also skipped the last open meeting before the planned U.N. vote to recognize Palestinian statehood — yet held her first press conference with the U.N. Secretary General on the pressing international issue of texting while driving.

Grenell now runs Capitol Media Partners, an international public affairs firm, and is on the Advisory Board of LIGNET.com, Newsmax’s global intelligence and forecasting service.