Clinton Taps 2 Envoys To World Hot Spots

Secretary Of State Names Special Envoys To Mideast, South Asia As She Declares New Era Of U.S. Diplomacy

(CBS/AP)  Hillary Rodham Clinton took charge of the State Department on Thursday, proclaiming the start of a new era of robust U.S. diplomacy and announcing the appointment of two special envoys to South Asia and the Middle East.

With Mr. Obama at her side in the ornate Ben Franklin Room, the nation's 67th secretary of state introduced former Senate Majority Leader George J. Mitchell, D-Maine, as a special envoy for the Middle East. Former U.N. ambassador Richard Holbrooke was announced as a special adviser on Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The posts are the first of several new special envoys the administration plans to create to deal with particularly vexing problems abroad.

Mitchell said he'll be facing a "volatile, complex and dangerous" conflict - one that has become so entrenched, it's seen by many as unchangeable. But he said Mr. Obama and Clinton aren't convinced of that.

Later, Mr. Obama said he will aggressively seek a lasting peace between Israel and the Palestinians and that the U.S. will always defend Israel's "right to defend itself."

Meanwhile, Holbrooke noted that Pakistan and Afghanistan have "different histories" and traditions, yet find themselves inextricably linked. Referring to the Taliban and al Qaeda, he said both countries are waging a difficult struggle against an "enemy without any scruples" in the tribal areas along their shared border.

Mr. Obama cited a "deteriorating situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan" and said that region is now "the central front" in the battle against terrorism and extremism.

"We can no longer afford drift, we can no longer afford delay," he said.

Earlier Thursday, Clinton pledged to boost the morale and resources of the diplomatic corps and promised them a difficult but exciting road ahead. A key player in the war on terrorism, Clinton got a hero's welcome as she arrived for her first day on the job, reports CBS News correspondent Chip Reid.

"I believe with all of my heart that this is a new era for America," she said to loud applause in the main lobby of the department's headquarters, which President Barack Obama visited later in the day to underscore his administration's commitment to diplomacy.

Clinton began her job at the State Department one day after her Senate confirmation.

"This is going to be a challenging time and it will require 21st Century tools and solutions to meet our problems and seize our opportunities," Clinton said at her welcoming. "I'm going to be asking a lot of you. I want you to think outside the proverbial box. I want you to give me the best advice you can."

"I want you to understand there is nothing that I welcome more than a good debate and the kind of dialogue that will make us better," she said. "We cannot be our best if we don't demand that from ourselves and each other."

In her spirited 10-minute pep talk, she spoke of the importance of defense, diplomacy and development - the "three legs to the stool of American foreign policy" - and noted that the State Department is in charge of two of them.

"We are responsible for two of the three legs," said the former New York senator and first lady. "And we will make clear as we go forward that diplomacy and development are essential tools in achieving the long-term objectives of the United States."

Clinton's mandate from Mr. Obama is to step up diplomatic efforts and restore the nation's tattered image overseas. She has vowed to make use of "smart power" to deal with international challenges.

"At the heart of smart power are smart people, and you are those people," she told the assembled throng. "And you are the ones that we will count on and turn to for the advice and counsel, the expertise and experience to make good on the promises of this new administration."

Clinton takes over an agency that was often sidelined during George W. Bush's eight-year presidency, particularly in his first term over the decision to go to war in Iraq. Although former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice restored some of the department's influence, diplomats still complained of a lack of access to the top, as well as funding.

In introductory remarks, Steve Kashkett, vice president of the union that represents diplomats, noted that Mr. Obama and Clinton had both "decried the neglect that the foreign service and the State Department as a whole have suffered in recent years."

Clinton, meanwhile, sought to reassure frustrated diplomats that they will be heard.

"This is a team, and you are the members of that team," she said. "We are not any longer going to tolerate the kind of divisiveness that has paralyzed and undermined our ability to get things done for America."

She predicted her team would experience "a great adventure. We'll have some ups and some downs. We'll face some obstacles along the way. But be of good cheer and be of strong heart, and do not grow weary as we attempt to do good on behalf of our country and the world. ... And now, ladies and gentlemen, let's get to work."

After her remarks, Clinton made telephone calls to foreign leaders, toured some of the department's key offices and received briefings before hosting Mr. Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and national security adviser James Jones. They are to meet in a closed-door session before Obama addresses the diplomatic corps.

[ramos937]

The Obama folks have to accept some very hard and dirty facts if they are to be of any use in ME peaces talks.

1. The PLO is composed of Fatah and Hamas. Fatah are the "good" guys and Hamas are the "bad" guys. Fatah cannot bind Hamas and vice versa. Hamas has to be included in any talks otherwise it is a waste of time.
2. There will not be any lasting peace during our lifetimes - perhaps during our kids lifetime in the ME. The best that can be hoped for are long periods of stability.
3. We have to learn that we do not always have to be the leaders in the peace talks. Many times, it is best to let countries such as Egpt, France, Jordan, etc take the lead and we be in a support role.
4. Israel also can be the "bad" guy in some incidents. They fight for their survival every day and this is reflected in their treatment of Arabs.

There is lots more but basically, we need to acknowledge Hamas and let others lead.

[newslink]

Hillary has to prove herself. We all remember the remarks.That she made on her Campaign Trail. Ducking Bombs,Mr. Obama living a Fairy Tale and the best one. The sky opening.Now she has to make it Happen, and No Excuses. Or she will be like Chicken Little"The sky is Falling, the sky is Falling"

[chitownfire1]

It won''''t matter how many twelve year old children Israel shoots in the belly now.

America has decided to support the genocide of the Palestinian people.

One innocent life at a time, or a thousand innocent lives at a time.

It doesn''''t matter to us or Israel.

The thirst of evil can never be quenched.
ST

History will record that, by the sheer number of innocent dead, Israel was the greatest terrorist nation ever to exist, while proclaiming itself civil.
SearingTruth

A Future of the Brave



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Posted by Entropod

The author who included Isreal as having a key role in the Book of Revelations has done more for Isreal than any single figure in history.....

[irmcvet971]

Following her statements, Shrillary was seen Cackling Wildly, before mounting her Broom and flying off into the Night Sky..................Scary Sh*t...

Posted by stinginrich at 02:12 AM : Jan 23, 2009

SOMEONE''S parents allowed them to say up WAY to late here. You should also stay away from the Wizard of OZ...

[irmcvet971]

Most likely Billary is visiting the Middle East to pick up some more dough from the UAE for her and her hubby....they have a good financial relationship with those Muslim fundies..

Posted by Truthin2009 at 11:29 PM : Jan 22, 2009

LOL Right! If you didn''t have anything intelligent to add to the discussion why show that you are a ditto head. I mean EVERYONE KNOWS you freaks are praying for our failure here, you and your fuhrer have made that VERY plain so you don''t have to show it like this... YOU only look MORE childish.

[irmcvet971]

I think the days of putting INCOMPETENT people in charge of SERIOUS problems has ended.

[tjgrahamsr]

give president obama time to do the job.you gave bush 8 years.stop listning to rush limbaugh,tell him to go and pop some more pills.remember s.s.clinton works for president obama and the people of the USA

[stinginrich]

Following her statements, Shrillary was seen Cackling Wildly, before mounting her Broom and flying off into the Night Sky..................Scary Sh*t...

[truthin2009]

Most likely Billary is visiting the Middle East to pick up some more dough from the UAE for her and her hubby....they have a good financial relationship with those Muslim fundies..

[pepperwood2]

Clinton, meanwhile, sought to reassure frustrated diplomats that they will be heard.

"This is a team, and you are the members of that team," she said. "We are not any longer going to tolerate the kind of divisiveness that has paralyzed and undermined our ability to get things done for America."

This ought to be good? Miss Congeniality with 45 years experience in bringing about divisiveness by playing the race card in her campaign. There they go again. The CHANGE we can Xerox. Its all about me..wheeeeeee..this is fun & I''m just warming up. cackle cackle cackle

[marme51]

I agree,the President and the people he has chosen will make a change in this nation.Please show them respect and put a stop to all the hostile&vicious comments.My God,we are all humans ,can''t we join together&say prayers for them instead of wasting time with all your negative rude comments.I myself feel ashamed of so many of the bad comments.Give them a chance.In Gods name,may he be with us all..

[auscross1277]

Hillary, screeching around the world in her horse blanket while grazing on bribes from the oil sultans; what an awful Secretary of State.
Posted by b4ucmyI at 07:30 PM : Jan 22, 2009
*** just because rice did that for bush... doesn''t mean hillary would do the same...

[dronemonk]

It''s a new era alright. The USA is bankrupt (both financially and, more alrmingly, morally). Bankrupt outfits don''t get to call the shots like solvent ones do.

[b4ucmyi]

Hillary, screeching around the world in her horse blanket while grazing on bribes from the oil sultans; what an awful Secretary of State.

[claydowner]

Hillary is already doing good things on her first full day on the job. Mr. Mitchell and Mr. Holbrooke will be excellent envoys for the Middle East and Afghanistan-Pakistan. Fundamentally, we need to to change the way we conduct business. Unilateral military actions must be avoided at all costs and only as a last resort. We need to forge new political alliances with the BRIC countries (Brazil,Russia, India, and China) to solve global problems by means of joint economic, diplomatic and military operations through the auspices of the UN. We can not afford to go it alone anymore. This will require that America listen and pragmatically support the concerns of other countries. You only need to look at our $11 trillion national debt, $1.2 trillion fiscal deficits, and $3 trillion long term costs and 40,000 casualties from Iraq to see why the days of unilateralist actions are over with for America.

[ozonmojo]

Pakistan will have a dozen Holbrookes for breakfast.He is not going to make much of a positive difference in that region,epecially with his confrontational attitude.He isl ikely to aggravate the situation there,if he tries to twist the arm of India to surrender Kashmir to Pakistan to buy peace with that failed state.
,

[antepamfe200]

I think we should all remember Our new president and his cabinet and his family in our prayers. God bless them all. Thank you.

[ajmarine111]

you need to read the news. that guy for drugs and alcohol was george w bush. that guy has had his share of dui!

Posted by bigsk8fan at 06:37 PM : Jan 22, 2009





Giuliani on Obama: %u201CI respect his honesty in doing that,%u201D Giuliani said of Obama speaking about his drug use. %u201CI think that one of the things we need from our people who are running for office is not this pretense of perfection. And the reality is all of us that run for public office, whether its governor, legislator, mayor, president, we are all human beings. If we haven%u2019t made mistakes don%u2019t vote for us. Cause we got some big ones that are gonna happen in the future and we won%u2019t know how to handle them.







Everyone has a past.

[centerfall94]

Hey Cons! Rush Limbaugh employed his Chaos operation during the primaries to sew discord between Obama and Clinton to try to aid the Repubicans in the 2008 elections. I just saw Obama and Clinton together and didn''''t see much animosity. How well did Rush''''s Chaos thing work for you guys during that last election cycle?

Posted by Smirk22 at 06:39 PM : Jan 22, 2009

LOL!

Funny stuff... but don''t feed the neocon trolls!

heheh

[smirk22-2009]

Hey Cons! Rush Limbaugh employed his Chaos operation during the primaries to sew discord between Obama and Clinton to try to aid the Repubicans in the 2008 elections. I just saw Obama and Clinton together and didn''t see much animosity. How well did Rush''s Chaos thing work for you guys during that last election cycle?