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By
Charles Wolfson
OK, it is an artificial deadline but that hasn’t stopped questions from
being asked about how Hillary Rodham Clinton is doing as America’s 67th
secretary of state. After six months one can say in some cases it is the
normal inside-the-beltway chatter, mere water cooler fodder for those
who want to know who is up and who is down, especially since there is a
new administration in town. However, there are those using the six month
mark to ask more seriously whether Clinton has yet made any moves of
consequence.
Clinton herself chose this week to take stock in what her aides billed
as a major foreign policy address at the Council on Foreign Relations.
She began by recalling a bit of advice given to her early on by one of
her (unnamed) predecessors: "Don’t try to do too much. And it seemed
like a wise admonition," Clinton said, "if only it were possible."
One of the cold hard facts of Clinton's daily life is having to deal
with all of the well known litany of challenges from two wars to an
ongoing world-wide recession and, as she noted, "they all threaten
global stability and progress."
To help manage her many problems Clinton has gone back to a familiar
model because one hallmark of her State Department has been a return to
diplomacy by special envoy. This marks a return to a style favored
during the administration of her husband, President Bill Clinton's
administration and a distinctly different approach from the
administration of President George W. Bush which largely shunned the use
of special envoys. Virtually every major foreign policy front-burner
issue has its own envoy, operating outside the normal state department
bureaucratic structure. From the Middle East peace process and North
Korea to Iran and Afghanistan-Pakistan Clinton has chosen to place
experienced outsiders in top policy jobs. Clinton has also named envoys
for climate change, women’s issues and European energy problems.
Secretary Clinton has also emphasized more coordination between the
diplomacy practiced by her State Department and the development efforts
of the U.S. Agency for International Development which she also
oversees. She speaks often of diplomacy, development and defense as the
three pillars of America’s national security policy. In an effort to get
a better long term grasp on what is done on her watch, Clinton has
instituted some new management reforms, the most ambitious of which is
the Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review. This is taking a page
from the Pentagon and is modeled on a similar process there, something
she became familiar with as a senator on the Armed Services committee.
Hillary Rodham Clinton may be a diplomat now but it is no secret she is
a politician at heart and, therefore, only a small surprise that in her
big speech this week she took several rhetorical potshots at the
recently departed Bush administration. "No doubt we lost some ground in
recent years, but the damage is temporary. It's kind of like my
(recently fractured) elbow-it’s getting better every day." She said her
aim was "a more flexible and pragmatic posture with our partners,"
adding "so we will not tell our partners to take it or leave it, nor
will we insist that they're either with us or against us. In today's
world, that's global malpractice."
If she demonstrated her political instincts are clearly intact,
Clinton's rhetoric also touched on differences in policy including on
the critical approach to the regime in Iran. "I believe, though, that
the absence of the United States for much of the last eight years in
these negotiations was a mistake. I think we outsourced our policy to
Iran and, frankly, it didn’t work very well. That’s how I see it." For
now, the Obama administration has left open the door to engagement but
Clinton, who has said "the time for action is now," has also warned "The
opportunity will not remain open indefinitely." How much time Mr. Obama
and his secretary of state actually will give Tehran is still an open
question.
Another hallmark of Clinton's early efforts include a new emphasis on
issues related to climate change, to women's issues and to the inclusion
of a number of rising global powers such as India, Brazil, Turkey, South
Africa and Indonesia in America’s decision making process. On her
current trip to India, for example, Clinton plans to discuss a broad
agenda ranging from terrorism to climate change to the perils of doing
business with Iran. She will also continue her already well-established
practice of meeting with women's groups and doing events related to
climate change.
Meanwhile the chattering classes in Washington's political and policy
circles have been busy. If Clinton is having special envoys tend to
everything, what is she doing? Does the recent move of Dennis Ross from
the State Department to the National Security Council mean she is not in
control of Iran policy? Has she been able to find a role for herself?
Most of this chatter now falls into the inconsequential category.
There is plenty of time for Clinton to assert herself which is something
she must do if, at the end of the day, she is to be thought of as a
strong secretary of state. And there is one more thing. Clinton is
carrying out the foreign policy of her boss, President Barack Obama.
Whether Washington ends up having diplomatic engagement with Tehran or
ends up having to resort to force to deal with Iran's nuclear program is
a decision which will not be made in Foggy Bottom.
Source: CBS Interactive, July 17, 2009
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