Condoleezza Rice, Jack Straw: Special chemistry

London, April 4 (Reuters): When it was time to grab a few hours rest before landing on a secret mission in Baghdad last weekend, Condoleezza Rice insisted that Jack Straw take the bed in the private cabin in her aircraft.

The British foreign secretary was horrified when he woke up to find that the US secretary of state, one of the world’s most powerful women, had slept on the floor so that her guest was more comfortable.

Rice’s considerate gesture reflects a growing friendship between the two and their bid to work even more closely together on issues such as Iran, Iraq and West Asia. But that personal chemistry did not always win over others in five days of diplomatic bonding that took the top diplomats to Straw’s hometown of Blackburn and then to Iraq.

In Britain, Straw was rapped by newspapers for ungentlemanly conduct. One newspaper called the episode “Bedgate”.

In Blackburn, anti-war demonstrators were waiting at each stop to protest the US-led invasion of Iraq.

While relatively small in number, the protesters stole the spotlight from what was intended to show the special relationship between the US and Britain, mirroring a visit by Straw to Rice’s home state of Alabama last year.

Straw joked at their final news conference in Blackburn that he could have done a better job organising the protests, to which Rice replied: “I’m glad you didn’t.”

The aim of the Blackburn trip was to show Rice another part of England beyond the corridors of power in London. But while the couple visited a school, attended a concert and toured the stadium of Straw’s favourite soccer team, their staff were putting together a joint trip to Baghdad.

The couple slipped away from a party in Liverpool where Rice was officially meant to be spending the night and took off to Baghdad.

Rice boarded at the front of her plane while Straw sneaked in at the back entrance used more frequently by reporters. After planning their strategy in Iraq, Rice offered her pull-out bed to Straw.

Reporters travelling with Rice were sworn to secrecy for security reasons until both ministers were safely in the international Green Zone in Baghdad on Sunday. Rice followed Straw’s cue and spent her first night ever in Baghdad. Whenever Straw visits he always stays the night, while Rice has usually only stayed a few hours during her two previous trips.