WASHINGTON -- The Senate yesterday appeared ready to confirm Condoleezza Rice as the nation's first African-American female secretary of state after a spirited day of hearing testimony, during which she pledged to work toward mending frayed diplomatic ties with U.S. allies even as she staunchly defended the administration's war in Iraq.

Rice, a close confidante of President Bush who has been serving as his national security adviser, is in no danger of seeing senators balk at confirming her to succeed Colin Powell at the State Department helm. But questioning by all 18 Senate Foreign Relations Committee members yesterday led to more than 9¹/₂ hours of verbal sparring over the administration's foreign policy.

Indiana Republican Sen. Richard Lugar, the committee chairman, called Rice "highly qualified" but said she would need "all of her talents and experience" because of the foreign policy challenges posed in Iraq, the Arab-Israeli conflict, nuclear proliferation problems in Iran and North Korea, the humanitarian crisis in Sudan, fighting AIDS globally and reinvigorating economic and security relationships.

Sen. John F. Kerry of Massachusetts, the unsuccessful Democratic presidential candidate last year and a Foreign Relations Committee member, said he had concerns about confirming her because of her declarations that the war in Iraq was well-conceived, that the Iraqis are being sufficiently trained in security and that current U.S. troop strength there is adequate.

Kerry, who just returned from visiting U.S. troops in Iraq, questioned Rice longer than any other senator did. He said he believed that ammunition dumps there were not being properly guarded by overextended U.S. troops and that not enough was being done to solicit help in Iraq from other nations.

"I want this to work," Kerry said, adding: "There is deep-rooted skepticism in the region. If we're not willing to share some of the decision-making, we'll have more problems."

Rice responded, "We are all hands on deck." She said a free Iraq was "in everybody's interest," that 28 countries were helping and that doubters about Iraq's future should consider that democracy is already working in Afghanistan. "This was never going to be easy. It was always going to have ups and downs," she said.

Kerry said he was committed to working with the administration "when we can," but said the level of bipartisan dialogue in Washington was at its lowest level in decades. "We're all looking for a way to bind the wounds," he said. "The world is waiting. I am prepared to meet you half way."

After the hearing, Rice sought out Kerry to shake his hand.

In response to similarly intense questioning from Republican Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel, Rice refused to speculate about how long Americans would be fighting and dying in Iraq. She said the duration of the U.S. presence was directly proportional to how capably the Iraqis can defend themselves against terrorism.

She and California Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer disagreed vehemently over the administration's original rationale that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction were a major reason to go to war. Such arms were never found, and the administration recently announced that it had abandoned its search.

Boxer pointedly told Rice that she believed the national security adviser's "loyalty to the mission you were given to sell this war overwhelmed your respect for the truth."

Rice testily replied: "I have never, ever lost respect for the truth in the service of anything. It is not my nature; it is not my character."

After other sharp exchanges with Boxer, Rice told her: "I really hope you will refrain from impugning my integrity. I really hope you will not imply that I take the truth lightly."

Rice and Connecticut Democratic Sen. Chris Dodd also dueled verbally when the nominee steadfastly refused to answer his question about whether she personally considered interrogation practices such as stripping detainees and water-boarding them, which simulates drowning, as forms of torture that violate the Geneva Conventions. Both practices have reportedly been used against prisoners captured in Iraq or in the global war on terror.

Rice said the abuses that U.S. soldiers inflicted on captives at the Abu Ghraib prison outside Baghdad hurt the United States image in the world, and she insisted that in the Bush administration, "nobody condones torture." But she continued: "The problem with how to deal with unlawful combatants ... is a very difficult problem. I will not [answer questions about] specific interrogation techniques."

Dodd called her answer "very troubling," and urged her to speak with Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain, who faced torture during five years as a prisoner in Hanoi during the Vietnam War. "Do me a favor," Dodd admonished Rice. "Talk to John McCain. I think you'll get some good advice" about the dangers that can arise when U.S. officials give "waffling" answers about the handling of prisoners.

In response to longtime Democratic criticism that the Bush administration has not sought enough assistance from other countries for its Iraq effort, Rice said: "We must use American diplomacy to help create a balance of power in the world that favors freedom. And the time for diplomacy is now."

Delaware Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr., the committee's ranking Democrat, responded: "Despite our great military might, we are, in my view, more alone in the world than we've been at any time in recent memory. The time for diplomacy, in my view, is long overdue."

Illinois Democratic Sen. Barack Obama asked Rice: "Do we have a well-thought-out doctrine we can present to the world [about] where military action is justified and where it is not? Apparently, it is not justified in Sudan, where there is genocide."

Rice replied: "It's a very interesting question. ... You have to look at the mix of tools available to you. Military force should be a last resort."

Ohio Republican Sen. George Voinovich voiced worry about a 5 percent cut in the State Department's budget, suggesting that it, like the departments of Defense and Homeland Security, should be exempted from such reductions. "I believe State is as important as Defense," he said, expressing concern that the State Department will lack funds needed to employ adequate personnel for the myriad tasks it must shoulder in Bush's second term.

Numerous senators also told Rice that they felt that the Bush administration was not treating the nuclear ambitions of Iran and North Korea with enough seriousness.

Rice, 50, daughter of a Presbyterian minister, grew up in segregated Birmingham, Ala., where one of her childhood friends was killed in the Sept. 15, 1963, Ku Klux Klan bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church.

Rice moved to Denver, where she graduated from high school at age 15, then went on to earn her bachelor's and eventually a doctorate degree from the University of Denver. She became a specialist on the Soviet Union, worked in the White House of former President George H.W. Bush and later became provost of Stanford University in California. In 2001, George W. Bush tapped her to lead his national security team.

Rice is also a concert pianist, a figure skater and has a passionate interest in football. The Bushes consider her a family member.