Secretary Of State Clinton Worries Some In Arab World

Washington Post:

There is possibly no person President-elect Barack Obama considered for secretary of state who is more reliably pro-Israel than Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), the woman to whom he appears likely to give the job sometime after Thanksgiving.

...

Arabs, particularly Palestinians, are nervous that Obama seems prepared to give the job of top diplomat to a senator from New York who has spent eight years cultivating her pro-Israel constituency and would continue, they think, a lack of U.S. evenhandedness in refereeing the Israeli-Palestinian dispute. Because of what they regard as her bellicose rhetoric toward Iran and her initial support for the Iraq war, some see her selection as a sign that Obama intends to conduct a more hawkish foreign policy than he suggested during the campaign.

Read the whole story: Washington Post

Comments

[mcarmaniac]

hey wait a minute- bill clintons wife is secretary of state? holy mackeral this is some kinda screwed up world.

[partyofone]

They should also be worried about the Clintons ties to wealthy oil interests in Dubai and Saudi Arabia, who by many accounts have contributed to the Clinton Library and Foundation, paid Bill huge "consulting and speaking fees," and enaged in shady buiness deals. Did some of that buying influence money also make its way into Hillary's campaign as the Clinton loan, never repaid?

Everyone should be worried about Hillary as SoS. She has deep conflicts of intererst.

[ornovscot]

Apropos of the essay above, this is an interesting article that appeared in The Independent:



http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/hillary-plays-hardball-1031238.html

I do understand and appreciate the reasons that inform the decision to ask her to become Secretary of State, but after she assumes that role, I suspect that her demeanor and her tendencies will alienate many in the world, not just those in the Arab world.

The policies she supports, particularly her support for the war in Iraq and her support for an attack on Iran, do not augur well for a foreign policy that will depart significantly from that of the present Administration or for one that will improve the image of the United States throughout the world.

[ThoughtAboutIt]

Hillary Clinton is senator from the state of New York. She has to be a strong supporter of Israel. Obama ran for president as a senator from Illinois. He had to be a supporter of ethanol even though ethanol from food is bad policy on a national level.


One cannot accurately guage their positions in new capacities based on their performance in the senate. Does anyone think a Muslim former senator as Secretary of State would be able to successfully bring Israel to the negotiating table and convince them to give up land for peace?

[cobobs]

Nothing will make Clinton greater than bringing peace to Middle East. Being so pro-Israel will give her credibility when she pushes Israel to table. A little like it too a Democrat to end welfare or a Republican (Nixon) to thaw relationships with China and another (Reagan) with Russia. Just hope nothing bad happens between now and then (Jan 20)

[campgranata]

thank god she has experience in this arena after single handedly bringing peace to Ireland. I'll bet those pix of her downing shots of crown royal and beer will play well in the Muslim countries too.

Yet I think you have hit on what will be problematic for MRS Clinton; You mentioned Nixon in China and Regan in Russia; whomever is the president reaps the credit for successful negotiations not the secretary of state. Not a perk for the needy MRS Clinton who is in search of her own legacy.

[partyofone]

Yes, yes.... She will bring peace to the middle east just like she did to Northern Ireland while dodging bullets in Bosnia as the heavens openned a celstrial choirs sang " you go girl, you go" :)

[Ides]

If you're in an Arab country, Clinton's gender is the least of your worries. Somewhere between authorizing the Iraq War and supporting the use of cluster bombs in civilian areas I'll be surprised if there's a woman or child left alive when she's done.

[larazon]

That's the whole thing. War is so sanitized here. She should actually go to hospitals in Iraq and the West Bank where EVEN medecine is not being allowed across the border by the Israelis and see the effects of the policies she supports! She should have been sent to an area where a cluster b-omb was dropped to see the griz-zly sight of men, women and children strewn about. Oh but ignorance is bliss!

[Grunty1]

And I came into this article expecting the worry to be her gender.... My bad...

[larazon]

Isr@-el is a "ball and chain" that this country has been dragging around for years. They are directly responsible for the decline of America's image in the world. They have been given a license to commit eth-nic cleansing, land grabbing and human rights vio-lations by the U.S. for years.
No wonder America is now also into human rights viol-ations and t0r-ture.
Isr@el owns this country's foreign policy and much, much more.

Here is a recent example out of numerous ones on how they thumb their nose at international law on human rights and ethnic cleansing:

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=28983&Cr=palestin&Cr1=

And I do not have a drop of Ar@b bl-00d in my system. On the contrary, I have Je-wish ancestry and am Christian, but I find their behaviour despicable considering their history!

[FogBelter]

If I were Israel, I would start working like mad to build alliances with my Arab neighbors, because its patron, the US, is in a state of weakening economic and international influence. With major challenges from Russia and China on the horizon for the United States, its hard to see how, with diminished resources and glaring needs, the fetish with Israel can continue.

Israel needs to find its own way for its own sake.

[Bitsko]

So the Arab hawks are worried about an American hawk? Perhaps they should spend some time developing democracy in their countries, or even letting women drive.

[Agentlady007]

( Or at least let women make love...)

[Bitsko]

;^)

[tbone99]

With Axelrod, Emanuel and Clinton in the top seats ,- we couldn't have picked a better Cabinet if we had let Isreal pick it themselves.

[larazon]

Don't forget now Steinberg.

[jayjaga]

Why not allow the PE Obama to complete the composition of his cabinet before jumping the gun? This so called critisms of O will eventuall come to naught as O delivers on his promises to the American people.

Do not ever under estimate the strenghts of PE Obama. This was the same mistake that all his opponents during the primaries and the General election did at their detriment. Never under rate his ability and intelligence; if you do you will be trounced like Hilary and McBush.

So, folks, be confident that O will deliver based on his promises to the American people. What more do we need, other than to fulfil his campaign pledges?

[truegreen]

Obama will be giving the marching order not the other away around. People ought to relax and lets watch how Obama governs before we criticize.

[xxnounxx]

oh yeah he will give the marching orders,like he gave lieberman
his marching orders for the sos will be when its too late unfortunately

[Bitsko]

that makes absolutely no sense.

[Agentlady007]

There's no room in our skies anymore for your threats. Get a wife.

[deminmo]

Israeli officials have been using a lot of frequent flyer miles between
Israel and Washington, trying to convince Bush to strike Iran. Clinton
has been an advocate of using military force. Obama, not so much.
The cost of gas a few months ago made a military strike unlikely.
Israel doesn't believe Obama will allow any military action after he
becomes President. So, time for action seems to be before January 20.
Maybe that is what the Saudis and others are nervous about.

[Yermammy]

They have every reason to be. If we don't feed our MIC, the economy will become worse. Sad, but true. Hillary loves her some MIC.

[wesinohio]

That is a complete fallacy. Creating destruction and making weapons of destruction does not create net wealth. Borrowed funds can be diverted to increase consumer demand. That would actually cause the economy to create things people use, instead of create things that destroy people.

[Agentlady007]

It's just so important to remember that to save the United States from another recession, we should not repeat what has already happened. We need to be clear and not repeat the same mistakes. Sounds elementary, I know. Well, what works works...and what doesn't needs to be changed.