Obama a national security novice, says Clinton

Barack Obama would need a “foreign policy instruction manual” to keep the US safe, Hillary Clinton suggested today.

The former First Lady used a speech on foreign policy to portray her rival for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination as rash and inconsistent in the latest of a series of political attacks.

In a speech at The George Washington University in the US capital today, the 60-year-old New York senator portrayed the young Illinois senator as a man who could not make up his mind on how to deal with issues around the world.

“The American people don’t have to guess whether I understand the issues or whether I would need a foreign policy instruction manual to guide me through a crisis or whether I’d have to rely on advisers to introduce me to global affairs,” she said.

As she painted a picture of a dangerous world in need of seasoned and wise US leadership, Mrs Clinton portrayed 46-year-old Mr Obama as a national security novice.

She also compared his foreign experience to that of President George Bush upon taking office eight years ago.

“He wavers from seeming to believe that mediation and meetings without preconditions can solve some of the world’s most intractable problems to advocating rash, unilateral military action without the co-operation of our allies in the most sensitive part of the world,” she said.

She added that voters have already seen the “tragic result” of electing a commander in chief with little experience in national security and global affairs.

“We can’t let that happen again. America has already taken that chance one time too many.”

During a televised debate last summer, Mr Obama said he would be willing as president to meet with the leaders of Cuba, Iran and other hostile nations without preconditions, and he reiterated that willingness in a debate last week.

Mrs Clinton went on: “We simply cannot legitimise rogue regimes or weaken American prestige by impulsively agreeing to presidential talks that have no preconditions.

“It may sound good, but it doesn’t meet the real world test of foreign policy.”

But Mr Obama has also said he would be willing to send US troops into Pakistan if there were “actionable intelligence” that the country is harbouring terrorists.

Mrs Clinton vowed as president to begin redeploying US troops from Iraq within 60 days of taking office, pledged to address the global Aids epidemic, work with other nations to reduce global warming, and tackle the challenges associated with the growth of China.

Earlier, in a conference call with reporters, Obama campaign adviser Susan Rice said Mrs Clinton had shown poor judgment on a range of issues, including voting to authorise the invasion of Iraq and supporting legislation declaring the Iranian National Guard as a terrorist organisation.

“Those are critical foreign policy judgments,” Ms Rice said.

“They are judgments that any candidate should be held accountable for. And obviously we look forward to Senator Clinton’s explanation of how and why she got those critical judgments wrong.”