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Hillarysworld -> All things Hillary -> Clinton Reasserts Her Role in U.S. Foreign Policy (WSJ 11/2/09)
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TOPIC: Clinton Reasserts Her Role in U.S. Foreign Policy (WSJ 11/2/09)
Jen the Michigander


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Clinton Reasserts Her Role in U.S. Foreign Policy (WSJ 11/2/09)
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http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125712445258421889.html?mod=WSJ_topics_obama

Over the past week, however, the secretary of state's visits to Pakistan, the Persian Gulf and Israel inserted her on the front lines of a seemingly worsening security environment in the regions.

On issues such as global terrorism and Iran's nuclear program, the former first lady emerged as among the most hawkish members of Mr. Obama's cabinet. She took the rare step in Pakistan of publicly calling out Islamabad's military for its failure to capture al Qaeda leaders believed to be hiding in the country's tribal regions.

Now diplomats are gauging whether Mrs. Clinton's profile will continue to rise at a time when Mr. Obama's policy of using diplomatic engagement to address the world's starkest security challenges is coming under pressure.

Over the weekend, Mrs. Clinton endured a tough early round in her efforts to directly advance the Arab-Israeli peace process. She shuttled from the United Arab Emirates to Israel and on to Morocco in a two-day campaign aimed at getting the Palestinians and Israelis to return to peace talks that stalled nearly a year ago.

Mrs. Clinton specifically sought to nudge Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to give up his demands that Israel freeze all settlement activities in disputed territories as a precursor for resuming negotiations aimed at creating an independent Palestinian state.

The secretary's mission, however, was complicated by the Obama administration's own earlier stance on the issue. Mrs. Clinton previously had been among the most vocal U.S. officials calling for a complete cessation of Israeli construction in the West Bank and East Jerusalem as a means to underpin the peace process.

Mr. Abbas and other Palestinian officials balked over the weekend at Mrs. Clinton's request to return to talks. And Arab officials charged the U.S. with backtracking on its initial Mideast peace policy.

When Israel builds the housing units it has already approved, said Ghassan Khatib, a Palestinian Authority official briefed on Mr. Abbas's meeting with Mrs. Clinton, it will simply be continuing with its average construction rate over the past five years. "This is not good enough for the Palestinians," he said.

Mrs. Clinton also appeared to formally align herself with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu while in Jerusalem, a stance that could further alienate Arab governments.

"What the prime minister has offered in specifics of a restraint on the policy of settlements ... is unprecedented in the context of the prior two negotiations," Mrs. Clinton said at a joint news briefing with Mr. Netanyahu on Saturday night.

Mrs. Clinton is scheduled to further discuss the Arab-Israeli peace process with Arab foreign ministers on the sidelines of a regional economic-development conference in Morocco on Monday and Tuesday.

Iran's nuclear program also has been high on Mrs. Clinton's agenda during meetings with Arab and Israeli officials in recent days, senior U.S. officials said.

In Abu Dhabi, the secretary of state met with the crown princes of both the U.A.E. and Bahrain. The two Persian Gulf countries, along with Israel, are among the U.S. allies most vulnerable to any advancement of Iran's nuclear program. And Mrs. Clinton has assured the Gulf countries that Washington will work aggressively to deny Tehran a nuclear program.

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freespirit


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An impossible situation, made worse by Obama's position. Now, the WH and the news media can't wait to blame Hillary. We all have been concerned that something like this would happen - Obama's approval slips. Hillary's increases. What can he do? Marginalize her? Well, that didn't work. Now, the approach will be to blame her.

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It was we, the people; not we, the white male citizens; nor yet we, the male citizens; but we, the whole people, who formed the Union.... Men, their rights and nothing more; women, their rights and nothing less.  ~Susan B. Anthony
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