At her confirmation hearing Tuesday, Secretary of State nominee Condolezza Rice defended President Bush’s Iraq war plan and refused to lay out a timetable for the withdrawal of US troops. She called for what she described as “transformational diplomacy.” California Senator Barbara Boxer chastised Rice for stating Saddam Hussein was close to developing nuclear weapons during the lead-up to the Iraq war. Boxer said, “Your loyalty to the mission … overwhelmed your respect for the truth.”