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QUESTION: Madame Secretary, as you know, President-elect Bachelet was a victim of the military junta -- her family was a victim of the junta in Chile. And I'm wondering if you'll express any regret about America's relationship with that junta or any -- on a personal level or on a public level while you're on this visit?

SECRETARY RICE: Well, I think it's good to remember that it's now been almost 20 years that the United States has been a friend and supporter of Chilean democracy. We actually helped in the transition to democracy in Chile and we've had strong democratic relations ever since. I think it's also well to note that over this period of time the United States has been transparent and has tried to help with the release of documents and so forth as the Chileans have gone forward to deal with their own past. I think that that past is now behind us.

But obviously, the election of President Bachelet, who of course has -- Bachelet who has not just in her own life but of course in the tragedy in her family is really emblematic of -- a kind of symbol of what the Chilean people have gone through to get to this place of democracy. It's a story of tragedy and then of triumph. It is, by the way, a story that at some point in time, most democracies go through if they are fortunate to come out on the other side, as Chile has. It's very often because there have been people who have had to struggle and who have suffered tragedy in order to make that possible. And I think that that is an important message that the United States understands that this journey for Chile was a difficult one, but it's been now quite a long time since -- I hope we've been able to put that history behind us.

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