Condoleezza Rice backs out of Rutgers speech over role in Iraq war

Former secretary of state 'declined invitation' to speak at university graduation following protests by faculty and students

Condoleezza Rice, national security adviser and secretary of state under George W Bush, has backed out of delivering a commencement address at Rutgers University, after protests by faculty and students over her role in the Iraq War.

Rice said in a statement on Saturday that she had informed the president of Rutgers, Robert Barchi, that she was declining the invitation to speak on 18 May.

"Commencement should be a time of joyous celebration for the graduates and their families," Rice said. "Rutgers' invitation to me to speak has become a distraction for the university community at this very special time."

The New Jersey-based school's board of governors had voted to pay Rice, who was secretary of state from 2005 to 2009, $35,000 for her appearance. Rice is now a professor of political science at Stanford University.

Some students and faculty had protested, staging sit-ins and saying Rice bore some responsibility for the Iraq war as a member of the Bush administration. Barchi and other school leaders had resisted the calls to withdraw their invitation to Rice, saying the university welcomes open discourse on controversial topics.

In her statement, Rice defended her record, saying that she was honoured to serve her country and that she had "defended America's belief in free speech and the exchange of ideas".

But she said she didn't want to detract from the spirit of the commencement ceremony.

Barchi said on Saturday in a statement that Rutgers stood "fully behind the invitation" it issued to Rice. But he said school officials respected her decision.

"Now is the time to focus on our commencement, a day to celebrate the accomplishments and promising futures of our graduates," Barchi said.

The university said it would provide details in the coming days on who would replace Rice as commencement speaker.

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