Hillary’s job
“Ending the war in Iraq is the first step toward restoring the United States’ global leadership,” Clinton wrote a year ago in an article in Foreign Affairs magazine. US troops had to be brought home safely and stability restored to the region, she said.
But on the campaign trail, Clinton was more reluctant than Obama to commit to a firm timetable for withdrawing US troops. She has refused to apologise for a 2002 Senate vote authorising the war.
During the election race, Clinton said the US should focus more on improving security in Afghanistan. She has called for greater US troop deployments there.
She also has suggested a US envoy who could shuttle between the leaders of Afghanistan and Pakistan to help them in their efforts against a resurgent Taliban and al-Qaida presence in their countries.
A big question for Obama’s secretary of state will be how to approach Iran.
The Bush administration, which accuses Iran of seeking to build a nuclear bomb and helping militant groups in Iraq, has generally shunned contacts with Tehran.
During the presidential primary season, Clinton charged that Obama’s willingness to meet leaders of Iran, Syria and North Korea was evidence of his naivete about foreign policy. She has threatened to “obliterate” Iran if it uses nuclear weapons against Israel.
But Clinton also has argued for engaging Iran, Syria and other countries of the region in talks about the future of Iraq.
Clinton stresses the need for Arab-Israeli peace, but is considered a favourite of the pro-Israel lobby in the United States.
She says the fundamentals are a Palestinian state in Gaza and the West Bank in return for a declaration that the conflict is over, recognition of Israel’s right to exist, guarantees of Israeli security, diplomatic recognition of Israel and normalisation of its relations with neighbours.
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