For more of the schedule go to booktv. Org. [inaudible] ladies and gentlemen, please welcome condoleezza rice. [applause] [applause] [applause] [applause] good evening everyone. My name is john, i have the honor of being the executive director of the Ronald Reagan president ial foundation. I want to thank you for coming out this evening. Our men and women protecting our freedoms around the world, could you please stand and join me for the pledge of allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the united did states of america. And to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under god, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Please be seated before we ge gt started i want to recognize a couple of people in the audience. I know the first everyone will recognize they have been terrific supporters of the library and i would be congressman and his great wife. [applause] as well, we have another couple who is here with us, much of the greatness you see here at the Reagan Library and its also were hope you watch in washington d. C. Has been made possible through their generosity. That would be harry and his wife roslyn. [applause] thank you i dont know that a book has ever been written that included with it instructions, or an operators manual on how to best introduce the author. I wish there was. Its not a bad idea, because with the introducer simply followed the instructions on the manual kinda like the instructions of a bike on christmas eve. All the pieces would fit right into place. When were finished there would be a single extranet on the floor for the bike or praise of flattery for the author if on use. No, what which such a manual to accompany democracy, doctor rices most recent bestselling work actually say . Part one would be very simple and clear. Consider yourself extremely fortunate it would say. Doctor rice is none of the most one of the most respected woman in the world. The fact that she is sitting with you are prepared to discuss her newest book is like winning the powerball lottery. Theres no argument with that. On part two, the manual might also say doctor rice agrees to look at the group in a form of speech during if they want your stage take it, be brief and be seated. They would like to hear from doctor rice not all about doctor rice. I think i need work i dont think i need that here. Once she was here about her life and family entitled extraordinary ordinary people. Once more what she had just spent no higher arms, mmr about her years as the first woman to serve as National Security advisor to the president and the first africanamerican woman to serve as secretary of state. Her newest work is a book i think any decent instruction Manual Company would clearly state that doctor rice had to write. Its subject matter goes far beyond her personal and into the realm of how she thinks democracy can play ms playing the fundamental role of the lives of people all over the world. When i say its a book she had to write what i mean is that i think she detected some years ago that some online for the American People and freedom around the globe with a marked democracy being understood in the context of a very complicated whatever the case may be. From the time the United States and other allies set a motion Saddam Hussein in iraq to the present day diplomats were fighting for the rights for people around the world the fundamental question that underlies our action is this. Its in the interest of the United States to promote Democratic Institutions wherever you may. Any other related questions she has had task over the years witches can democracy prevail, is it right for every culture, how much might we gate which how long before can take hold. Seven of these questions and others like them have been the center hub and the inquiry of doctor rices world. Her book is a long way in answering that. Before you read her most recent book i know youll first enjoy hearing about it from the author herself. With that, ladies and gentlemen please join me in a conversation on stage in a conversation with doctor condoleezza rice. [applause] [applause] [applause] well, madame secretary on behalf of the foundation and all of your fancier we want to welcome you and know that you are at the tail end of a long trip on the road to discuss we cant thank you enough. Thank you very much. And john thank you for your leadership. I want to thank all of you for joining us for this conversation. Want to say there is no place i would rather be than the Reagan Library to talk about freedom. [applause] i would like to test out my theory as to why you wrote this book has this been on your mind for a long time and he thought someone needs to get out there and describe how democracy can flourish around the world no matter how difficult it might be . Its been on my mind for a long time. But i think we have to go back before that. When i think about democracy its kind of mysterious. People are willing to trust this obstructions and constitutions and rule of law. Theyre willing to go to the pole and elect people to represent them rather than going into the streets and rather than binding to family or clan or religion. They trust constitutions and rule of law. Thats a very mysterious process. As a kid, child growing up in birmingham, alabama was perhaps one who very early on saw something even more mysterious. I saw on segregated birmingham we couldnt go to a Movie Theater restaurant if you are a black person, or you were a secondclass citizen, i saw black citizens still devoted to the institutions of american democracy. I have one incident in the book that encapsulates it for me. I was around six years old and my uncle had my mothers brother had picked me up from school and it was election day. There were long lines of black people waiting to vote. I said to my uncle, while this must mean that man, wallace cannot win. I knew in my own 6yearold ways that we do not want him to win. So my uncle said, no, were a minority so he is going to win. I looked at him and said then why do they bother . In my uncle said because they know one day that boat will matter. As i went around the world as secretary of state my so long lines of librarians are iraqis, south africans, latin america, people voting sometimes for the first time i thought to myself, they know one day that boat will matter. We are blessed with this extraordinary gift, democracy. Americans in particular work blessed with Founding Fathers who understood an institutional design that would protect our liberties, our right to say what we think of worship as we please, to be free from the secret police at night, to have the dignities that come with having those having to govern you have to ask for your consent. If we were blessed with that and endowed by our creator with those rights it cannot be true for us enough for them. One of the marvelous legacies of the United States of america and the building in which we sit, the library in which we sit under the most marvelou marvelos legacies of Ronald Reagan is that he never forgot her obligation to speak for the voiceless, he never forgot our obligation to do the right thing and supporting those who wanted the simple freedoms that we had and he delivered. He believed the United States of america, america is an idea. And its an idea that is universal. So, that is why i wanted to write this book. [applause] when you are secretary of state you are in a position to mold the worlds opinion of the United States and it sections better than any other american, im sure. It has only been just a hundred days since the Trump Administration has been in power. I wonder if you can speak to has there been any change in your mind as to how americans are viewed as we transition from president obama to President Trump . I was in europe not too long after the election. The first thing i said tell my friends is, settle down. The United States of america is engaging in a bit of a democratic experiment. Weve just elected somebody who has never been in government before, who is never even sniffed the government before. That president is going to take some time, there is a bit of a learning curve. The one thing you can trust is that america has institutions that are absolutely for an absolutely concrete and will hold america in check. If you look at the president i think is getting used to the fact that actually it is not as easy as it looks in there. That the american presidency is not just one person, its an institution, a constrained institution. The Founding Fathers were very terrified of executive power. If theyre leaving the king they didnt want to create another one. He has courts which we learned will the president. He has governors 50 of them think they should be president of the United States and they have legislature by the way he america is not perfect and one of the saddest andhearteddest moments for me was in iraq. Because it was a stain on one of our greatest institutions. The fact that we have men and defend at the front line of freedom is just extraordinary gift an absolute gift and a few people acting badly catch them, a cloud on the commitment of men and women who do the right thing. I felt terrible at that moment. But i also say to people whenever Something Like that it happens, you know about when we have a riot in our streets about a contested Police Shooting or we have a katrina i say thats why america is a good example. Because of madison said he said i didnt think that the constitution would be the perfect work of perfect men. He said it was because men are imperfect that we need it. And so inperfection is a part of the human condition. The fact that the United States has been struggling with our imperfections ever since by the way, our birth defect of slavery, i mean, come, we remember born with an imperfection. A constitution that originally countinged my ancestor three fifths of a man. But somehow, i would take the oath of office to that same constitution as a 66 secretary of state and by the way sworn this by a jewish Woman Supreme Court justice. [laughter] and you would say to people, you know, we just keep striving. Okay we get up every day. We try to do a little bit better and thats really what democracy is about always a work in progress and that i think is a difference. [applause] i have to turn the russia and country for the moment we seem to have some real predicaments on our hands and really do feel like its been accelerated in last 100 days from the relations with russia and the expansion tendencies with iran and its funding of terrorist actions and north korea access to nuclear missiles, long rage missiles. Are there is there one of those examples where you would say now, this one rise up with all of the rest if we cant fix this, we have a huge problem on our hands. Let me say first trump has a oustanding National Security team. Rex tillerson is a really fine secretary of state. Some of us who wanted to see him become secretary of state kind of understood that the president needed to different kind of secretary of state. He needed a business peer. Are the oil men know world like nobody else. They have to live in deal with long till investment and difficult places deal with Difficult People and people working troubling circumstances. Theres like secretary of state [laughter] jim mattis is one of the best commanders of his generation, hr mcmaster the same so an excellent team. But any National Security teal would struggle with the north korean problem and single most dangerous problem that e weve got. I was the secretary of state who tried to negotiate with North Koreans to get they will to give up their Nuclear Weapons that was kim jongil the father he lived in a parallel universe, but it was abounded parallel universe. I think jr. Is unhinged and i think he is living in when he says things like i can destroy the United States. I think i hope he dunts really believe that. Right . He felt reckless. Anybody who will reach into malaysia to kill his half brother, and by all reports his half brother was under chinese protection. So hes reckless, hes probably a little unhinged and theyve made a lot of progress in the last several years on their Nuclear Program ares you see a Nuclear Weapon usable Nuclear Weapon you have to have three elements, you have to have fuel, and theyve been harvesting youre rain are yum for some time. Then you have to have a bomb design. Now when people tell you that its easy to make a Nuclear Weapon it actually isnt easy to make a Nuclear Weapon. The bomb design has to hold the material in critical moment until you want to hit it and explode it when you read in the newspapers that the tests theyre not getting very good yield that means it is exploding prematurely but theyre Getting Better at it it and working hard and getting to a place to explode it when they want to. Then they can affix it to the third element which is a delivery vehicle. Whats worrying people is their delivery vehicles are getting longer in range. And i dont know whether President Trump is being told its one year or three years or five years. My guess is someplace three to five years. Hes going to be able to marry that weapon to a continental Ballistic Missile that can reach the United States. Now, no president of the United States is going to let a reckless unhinged north korean leaders able to reach the United States with a Nuclear Weapon. So what do you do about it is this well the only country that actually has influence with North Koreans is probably china. But the chinese have always been more fearful of the collapse of the regime of a nuclear regime. So theyve refused to tighten the screws on north korean so he can do a lot and close border. They could deny them fuel, oil, and chinese could really hurt the regime. The chinese have to be convinced that they have to do now whatever it takes to stop regime and when you hear administration say, if you wont deal with North Koreans, we will. Thats the message that theyre sending. Mow, the we will is kind of ugly. Because if you want to look at military options, youre looking at soul which is very vulnerable and very close to the military zone they could do the North Koreans could do a lot of damage. A lot of civilian casualties very quickly in seoul. So the options are not very good. It is complicated by the new president in south korea who is a man of the left who has said we ought to be negotiating with the North Koreans trust me, i tried that. They walked away. And we are going to have to try to find a way to protect south korea, protect japan because again, no president can let the North Koreans be able to reach the United States with a Nuclear Weapon. Now, one good thing here the russians that we have so many troubling on on other things, its a long range missile can reach alaska it can reach [inaudible conversations] , so this may be a play where we can get some cooperation with the russians. So [applause] a lot of analysis essentially says that if he thinks theres one tragedy to occur in the last thousand years and roll around but point to the fact of the solution of the soviet stayed in. So hes often in georgia, and what do you think hes all about . What is it that healths. I know Vladimir Putin well and he actually kind of liked me at one point because i was a russianist you know he thought well they would get more attention and he told me that once. Now that youre secretary of state now that we can do it. One day were sitting there and he says you know us. Russia has only been great when its been ruled by great men like peter the great and alexander the second. Now, every bone in your body wants to say, and do you mean vladimir the great but you know youre secretary of state that would be rude. You cant say that. But thats actually who he thinks he is. He thinks hes reuniting russian people in greatness hes avenging the humiliation of the end of the cold war and collapse of the soviet union. So what if it means you take somebodys territory like crimea. So what it you make Eastern Ukraine basically ungovernable because the russians are backing ukrainian separatists who are killing ukrainian soldiers every day. So be it if you fly bomber runs along coast of sweden, i mean, whether they do Russian Community at least the last 300 years they havent done anything to russians, and he threatens he does something thats really dangerous. Russian pilots fly awfully close to American Ship tomen planes. And so hes going to push it until he stopped. Now, president obama did a good thing in deploys forces in land that thas a signal five and attack upon all is inviolable i would have made those perm nant but that will do rotating will do. We immediate to say also to putin, stop flying within ten feet of our planes because one of your guys is going to get shot down really soon, and stop doing it. They are