The auditorium of the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall in Sarasota was packed. There wasn’t a seat left in the room. Condoleeza Rice was in town.

As part of the Ringling College Library Association Lecture Series, the former US Secretary of the State under the Bush administration came to address several contemporary issues on Monday.

One of the main items on her agenda was the “War on Terror.” Referring to the most recent terrorist attack on the Delaware bound Northwest Airlines Flight on Christmas Day, Rice said, “ I am not surprised.”