“Botswana has been a very good steward for their diamonds,” Clinton says. I didn’t know that. By implication, would Botswana — whatever they’ve done; I can scarcely claim expertise — be a model for combating conflict diamonds and other war-derived mineral wealth?
Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) asks about the Iraqi refugee crisis. Now that there won’t be a Bush administration to treat dealing with Iraqi refugees as an admission of failure, what should the policy be?
Clinton says she’ll staff the State Department’s resident refugee office with “creative individuals.” Pledges to help More…
Clinton endorses the Bush administration’s six-party talks with North Korea, “but it also has potential … for bilateral talks between North Korea and the United States.” Was that so hard to hear, conservatives? “It’s our strong belief that the six-party talks … [are] a vehicle for us to exert pressure More…
What a refreshing change to hear a potential secretary of state engaging in a long colloquy on climate change. Glad to know that we’ll have an administration that admits that man-made climate change is happening.
“We have seen the abuses by contractors,” Clinton says, lamenting the overall trend of moving to a contracted State Department security workforce. “It’s been contractors across the board … I think we have to take a hard look about whether we want the U.S. government to be a contractor agency.” More…
“It shouldn’t be an either/or debate” between military force, diplomacy and development, Clinton says, “we want to blend those.” But what does that really mean? Right now it means that soldiers and Marines in Iraq and Afghanistan have to be diplomats and development workers as well. But it’s not clear More…
Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) brings up an overlooked point: “No woman or girl should have to grow up and face persecution for having being born female.” Asks if Clinton will commit to legislation “to help fight this immorality.”
Obviously, Clinton has made women’s rights one of her calling cards. “I More…
“A strong commitment to the [Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty],” she pledges, including “the end of nuclear weapons, as long as we can be assured we have adequate deterrence.” That includes reducing the America’s own nuclear arsenal, so consider my earlier notation that she wouldn’t pledge to do so inoperative.
“If More…
Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wisc.), a critic of a military-only shift in strategy in Afghanistan, asks about a policy review. “There will certainly be a policy review.” Think about a “more-for-more strategy,” Clinton says: if there are more troops from the U.S. there have to be more NATO troops and the More…
“A terrible humanitarian crises compounded by a cruel and corrupt regime in Khartoum.” There’s another strategy review on Darfur. “We intend to bring as many people along as we can to fulfill the [African Union] mandate.” The top officials “have spoken of other options: no fly zones, other sanctions and More…
rss