From the news item, we are sure this was at least Rice’s ______ trip to Iraq. [b

Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, on a heavily guarded surprise trip to Iraq on Sunday, urged patience for the country’ s fragile new government and said Iraqis have made remarkable political progress that can overcome a recent surge of violence.
   The one-day trip was Rice’s first visit to Iraq as the nation’s top diplomat. Rice was a chief architect of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq as White House national security adviser during President Bush’s first term and she accompanied Bush on his own surprise visit to Iraq on Thanksgiving Day 2003.
     Rice told reporters that she wanted to discuss the new government’ s upcoming tasks including writing a constitution, as well as addressing the country’s security and infrastructure needs.