Clinton Says US Diplomats Face Greater Challenges

WASHINGTON (AP) - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton says the convulsive change sweeping over Egypt and other parts of the Mideast show how American policymakers are "all in uncharted territory."

Speaking to a gathering of U.S. diplomats at the State Department, Clinton says the fast-moving developments require U.S. officials "to be more nimble and innovative and more accountable than ever before."

She didn't directly address the uprising in Egypt that is threatening to force President Hosni Mubarak out after 30 years in power. But Clinton said events in Egypt, Yemen, Jordan and elsewhere "show just how critical it is to have top level leadership on the ground and how that ground can shift under your feet."

Clinton said officials "face an increasingly complex, no easy answers, diplomatic and development environment."