whether we can keep the diplomatic balls in the air and not drop any, even as we move forward, as we must, on the military side.... The George W. Bush administration frankly owes the American public a much fuller and more honest assessment of what the costs will be of the actual conflict, as well as the aftermath, the post-conflict reconstruction. And the costs are going to be huge." In her memoir, Rice wrote, "Long experienced with the menace of Al Qaeda, I was one of the very few scholars at Brookings to openly oppose the Iraq War. From the start, I viewed that war of choice as a dangerous diversion from the main objective of defeating Al Qaeda globally and in Afghanistan." Shortly after the war began, Rice warned that the U.S. commitment to rebuilding Iraq would likely last for many years. During the 2004 presidential campaign, Rice served as a foreign policy adviser to John Kerry. Rice went on leave from the Brookings Institution to serve as a senior foreign policy adviser to Barack Obama in his 2008 presidential campaign. She was one of the first high-profile foreign policy staffers to sign onto Obama's campaign, as most of her peers had supported Hillary Clinton during the presidential primaries. Rice criticized Obama's Republican opponent in the campaign, John McCain, calling his policies "reckless" and dismissing the Arizona senator's trip to Iraq as "strolling around the market in a flak jacket." On November 5, 2008, Rice was named to the advisory board of the Obama–Biden transition. United States ambassador to the United Nations (2009–2013) On December 1, 2008, President-elect Obama announced that he would nominate Rice to be the United States ambassador to the United Nations, a position which he restored to cabinet level. Reportedly, Rice had wanted the post of national security advisor, which instead went to retired United States Marine Corps general James L. Jones. At her confirmation hearing, Rice was introduced by Senator Susan Collins who said "I can think of ... no better messenger than Dr. Susan Rice. I am honored to present her to this distinguished committee, and I enthusiastically endorse her nomination." Rice was confirmed by the Senate by voice vote on January 22, 2009. Rice became the second-youngest person and the first black woman to represent the U.S. at the UN. During her tenure at the United Nations, Rice championed a human rights