She adds that she believes the United States can ' turn this around.' Condi: The world isn't listening to the U.S.

Condoleezza Rice slammed the Obama administration’s handling of Iraq and America’s lack of strength on the world stage, saying that “nobody listens” when the U.S. isn’t leading.

“What we’re seeing is that when the United States steps back and speaks softly, nobody listens,” the former secretary of state said in an interview with Fox News that aired Monday.


“Americans also don’t like the world that they get when the United States is not deeply engaged and deeply involved,” Rice continued, pointing to beheadings carried out by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, the recent attack in the Canadian parliament and tensions with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

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“And so I think the American people are ready, I think the world is ready, for stronger American leadership.”

In the interview that was taped last week, Rice also defended former President George W. Bush’s handling of Iraq and said U.S. forces should have remained in the country.

“I wish we left a residual force. We’re now going to be back in Iraq to try and help the Iraqis deal with the threat of the Islamic State,” the former secretary of state said. “Now just imagine if we kept those forces there, we probably would’ve been able to train the Iraqis better in counterterrorism, we certainly would’ve had better eyes and ears on the ground to see the rise of ISIS,” using another acronym for ISIL.

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Rice added that she believes “we can turn this around,” suggesting a combination of “sustained, significant airpower” against ISIL, training of Iraqi forces, and American advisers on the ground.

The Pentagon said Friday that it is doubling the number of U.S. troops in Iraq as part of its fight against ISIL, with roughly 1,500 additional forces in a “non-combat role” heading to the region.

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Condoleezza Rice