Washington (CNN) -- Removing Saddam Hussein from power was the right move, but the United States made mistakes in the aftermath, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told CNN on Friday.
In an interview to be broadcast Monday on CNN International's "Connect the World" program, Rice acknowledged a failure to focus rebuilding efforts throughout the country and attributed the problem to a lack of understanding.
"I do believe I would take Saddam Hussein out of power again, but of course in the rebuilding of Iraq ... I would do things differently," Rice said. "I think we put too much emphasis on Baghdad and not enough emphasis on the provinces. Perhaps we didn't fully understand the degree to which the society would start to come apart as a result of being held in tyranny for all those years".
At the same time, Rice said it is still too early to fully judge the success or failure of that war or other foreign policy issues in the administration of George W. Bush.
"Sometimes things that look terrific at the time look pretty bad in retrospect, and vice versa, so ultimately this is a story that will be written in history," said Rice, who served as secretary of state for the second of Bush's two four-year terms as president.
Rice had a full day in Washington planned, including several interviews, two speeches and a White House meeting with President Barack Obama. A memoir on her childhood, as well as a version for young readers, came out this week.
The invitation from a sitting president to a former Cabinet member is "not that unusual," Rice said, adding that she believes they'll discuss "a range of foreign policy issues".
"It's whatever the president wants to talk about," she said.
Obama has criticized the Bush administration for shifting focus from Afghanistan to Iraq, which he says stalled the effort to vanquish the Taliban insurgency and prevent Afghanistan from again becoming a haven for al Qaeda and other terrorists to launch attacks against the United States.
CNN
