Robust

Robust. Now, there's a word.

It seems to be Condi's favorite.

First, in the UN SC Resolution 1701:

Q: The impression that we have been getting from the Israeli speakers is that the resolution does not say Chapter Six, namely the enforcement capability, but in its words, it is almost that. Now Europe seems to be creating the impression that it is actually Chapter Six and no enforcement. Am I right in understanding what you are saying?

Solana: I do not want to create any confusion. I am just stating what is in the resolution and I cannot go any further. As you know very well, it was a long debate about Chapter Six, Chapter Seven, and at the end the agreement was Chapter Six. Chapter Six has a type of rules of engagement which is different form Chapter Seven rules of engagement. That does not mean that the force is a weak force or not a robust force. . It is a robust force, to implement a Chapter Six resolution.

Q: What makes it a robust force?

Javier Solana: There may be moments, in which the situation requires action and you have to be prepared to act, and to be robust. But Chapter Seven is a chapter that speaks of peace keeping enforcement as a force. This is Chapter Six which has a different objective for the force.

FM Livni: I would like to add that, even though it is Chapter Six, looking at the resolution and the mandate of the forces, part of the mandate of the forces is not only to be observers but they can use force in order to implement their role as listed in this resolution.

So the mandate is more than only observing forces, and we know that the same day that the resolution was adopted by the Security Council, also Secretary General Kofi Annan said that his intention is to arrange a robust and effective force on the ground.

So, is it really Condi's favorite word, this robust?

Let's check.


In the Middle East:

And I think we got to a good outcome for both Israel and for Lebanon, who want the same thing. They want the south to be a place where the Lebanese government and the Lebanese army -- with the help of a robust international force -- are able to prevent the kind of vacuum that led to this crisis in the first place.

In Asia:

Together, this pattern of recent achievements and future promise confirms the success of our robust engagement with Asia -- success built with relationships formed by dozens of Oval Office meetings the president has had with leaders from the region.

In China:

On the other hand, a Chinese economy that is that big and that robust that isn't reformed is going to be a problem for the international system.

In Iran:

"We have established a robust path for Iran if it chooses to cooperate, and a robust path for the international community if it chooses not to," Rice said of the agreement. "It's now up to Iran."

In Russia:

The President continues to believe that he has got to move forward with the testing program in a robust way, so that we can really begin to evaluate the potential for missile defenses.

I think that President Putin, himself, said this morning, and he's said several times during this visit, that he understands the President's argument about the threat, although he may still continue to believe that the ABM treaty has a certain importance to the post-Cold War era, as it did in the pre-Cold War era.

and

Throughout the Cold War, the United States pursued a policy that promoted political liberty, using every instrument from the Voice of America to direct presidential intervention on behalf of dissidents. But it lost sight neither of the importance of the geopolitical relationship with Moscow nor of the absolute necessity of retaining robust American military power to deter an all-out military confrontation.

In Darfur:

And the President feels very strongly and very passionately about the need to get an agreement, about the need to get a robust security force, a blue-hatted force in to be able to protect the innocent people of Darfur

In East Timor:

U.S. Representative Allyson Y. Schwartz, joined by 44 of her congressional colleagues, called upon Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to support a robust United Nations mission to East Timor, where violence has caused civil unrest over the past several months.

Biological Weapons:

And I'd just like to say one other thing. The nuclear case, yes, was, was an issue, but there was also a very robust biological weapons issue. Biological weapons are also extremely dangerous, as we found out with just a small amount of anthrax on Capitol Hill and at various news outlets in the United States.

Terror:

You know Lisa, the first full policy document, signed by the President on a major policy issue was not about Iraq. It was not about Russia. It was not about China. It was a plan to eliminate al-Qaida.
And that plan to eliminate al-Qaeda was going to take three to five years prior to September 11th. Now, we — what we did when we came into office was to keep in place the Clinton Administration policy which had been a policy to try and roll back al-Qaeda. We continued to pursue that policy. We thought that we needed a more robust policy.

On Music:

On this Sunday, once the musicians had settled down and tuned up, they began by playing through the ebullient first movement of Schumann's Piano Quintet in E flat. The piano part has fancy runs and elaborate flourishes, especially in a tempestuous contrasting development section, alive with intricate counterpoint.

"We generally like to start off with a nice finger-buster for the secretary," Mr. Battey said. That way, he explained, she's warmed up when they really get to work.
Ms. Rice's long, thin fingers are nimble indeed, especially for someone who doesn't have much time to practice. Her touch has lightness and subtlety, yet she plays with crisp clarity and, when called for, robust sound.

They played right through the first movement. When things got a little tangled in the difficult development section, they had the collective wit to forge ahead and let things untangle.

And this:

Dr Rice will give a robust defence of America’s actions in response to terrorism. She will tell European leaders that the US does not fly prisoners around the world to be tortured, and that it has respected the sovereignty of all the countries that it has dealt with.

And, oh-oh:

The reality though -- hard as it is to admit -- is that Vice President Cheney shrugged off the Libby indictment in a few weeks and has roared back to a robust role in national security affairs and is now trying to strangle Condoleezza Rice's foreign policy agenda.

P.S. If anyone can locate any other "robust" entries of Condi, just let me know.

And "robust" has nothing to do with this.