Hillary's Hearings: Who Knew Power Could Be So Smart?

categories: Darfur & Sudan, Obama Administration, War Crimes & Crimes Against Humanity

Published January 13, 2009 @ 07:19PM PT

In her confirmation hearings this morning, Secretary of State-designate Hillary Clinton put forth the world view of Obama administration, established a diplomatic strategy rooted in a concept of "smart power", and set the stage for a radical departure from the callous cowboy unilateralism that has characterized the last eight years. (Which, speaking authoritatively as a Texan, is an insult to the word "cowboy.")

Clinton's oft-repeated focus on "security, interests, values" tells of a new foreign policy that recognizes interrelation and interdependence in an increasingly nuanced world, that combines pragmatism with a sense of responsibility, and that reintroduces the concept of "cooperative engagement" into the American foreign policy lexicon.

It's quotes like this that make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside:

"All the while, we must remember that to promote our interests around the world, America must be an exemplar of our values. Senator Isakson made the point to me the other day that our nation must lead by example rather than edict. Our history has shown that we are most effective when we see the harmony between our interests abroad and our values at home. And I take great comfort in knowing that our first secretary of state, Thomas Jefferson, also subscribed to that view, reminding us across the centuries: ‘The interests of a nation, when well-understood, will be found to coincide with their moral duties.'"

And I'm delighted just by the thought of the look on John Bolton's face when she said this:

"We should also use the United Nations and other international institutions whenever appropriate and possible."

Clinton singled out the egregious abuses committed in Darfur, the DRC, and Zimbabwe as priority areas for the administration, once again signaling a commitment to ending genocide and mass atrocity. She referred to Khartoum as "very cruel" (total burn), spoke out against the mistreatment of the Zimbabwean people at the hands of their government, and condemned the mass killings and rapes in the Congo. Why is this Laundry List of Disaster important, you ask? Because in this speech, with these hearings, Clinton set the priorities of the new administration, established the framework for a new character of American global engagement, and, in doing so, firmly sent a message to the world that the rules of the game are changing.

Check out John Norris's post on the ENOUGH Project blog for insight into Clinton's discussion on Darfur, and the particular importance of her mention of the region's rebel groups. In sum, he writes,

"On balance, a very good performance by Clinton, but the devil truly remains in the details when dealing with Sudan."

Always.

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Comments (8)

I wonder if she'll be to blame if suddenly deplomacy doesn't work among fundamentalist musliums and greedy dictators... just to point it out

Posted by Steven Maloney on 01/13/2009 @ 11:56PM PT
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I hope our expectations are not too great......... I further hope that there is solid support for her and the new administration as we go forward in difficult times...

Posted by dave mackay on 01/14/2009 @ 06:36AM PT
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this post sounds too hopeful to me.
But I certainly want things to get better too.

I'm crossing my fingers in hopes that a year from now you're not making posts about how ineffectual Clinton is.

Posted by Prem Barbosa on 01/14/2009 @ 11:42AM PT
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well, the Gaza conflict is a good test for her, if she can breing peace there (which i doubt, but she should still try) i'd be glad to have her speack for our nation... as long as she doesn't go around making deals that are bad for the nation as a whole

Posted by Steven Maloney on 01/14/2009 @ 12:07PM PT
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Trust me, I'm crossing my fingers as well.

I'm a realist at heart, but I think that a little idealism is needed to motivate us to strive for our highest possible aims.

Posted by Michelle . on 01/14/2009 @ 03:00PM PT
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will the Sri Lankan conflict will be taken into consideration by the Obama administration? I hope it does, and at the same time I'm pretty much down as to "it sounds too good to be true".

Posted by Sujeebavan Manoharan on 01/15/2009 @ 08:22PM PT
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i doubt so, i rarely hear anything even on BBC radio about it nowadays

Posted by Steven Maloney on 01/15/2009 @ 09:16PM PT
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I hope the Obama realizes that what is taking place Sri Lanka is not "war against terrorism" but its an ethnic conflict which has its roots deeply embedded in the past, after colonialism left the island. The source of this conflict is the combining of two nations (the Tamils and the Sinhalese) together by the British colonialists in order to facillitate their administration. And this turned out to have a very negative outcome up to this very day. I wish the colonialists have left the island as it was before or rather if they didn't leave the place at all.

Posted by Sujeebavan Manoharan on 01/16/2009 @ 09:51AM PT
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Michelle became involved in the anti-genocide cause at a young age, and has been involved in various activist endeavors, including the Teach Against Genocide pilot campaigns, ever since.