Hillary Clinton for regional strategy against militants

WASHINGTON - US Secretary of State-designate Hillary Rodham Clinton said Tuesday the incoming Obama administration would pursue a broader approach to the problem of extremism in Pakistan and Afghanistan, as she pledged during her confirmation hearing to use both diplomacy and defence in international relations.
“We will lead with diplomacy because it’s the smart approach,” Hillary said in her opening statement before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “But we also know that military force will sometimes be necessary, and we will rely on it to protect our people and our interests when and where needed, as a last resort.”
Hillary, a former US First Lady, said she and President-elect Barack Obama believe foreign policy “must be based on a marriage of principles and pragmatism, not rigid ideology.”
She sought to assure former colleagues she would consult frequently with on foreign policy matters, vowing to renew American leadership in the world and to strengthen US diplomacy.
She also called for a “smart power” strategy in the Middle East that goes beyond the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to address other pressing issues like Iran’s nuclear programme.
She fielded an array of non-contentious, often friendly, questions from Democrats as well as Republicans, signalling the likelihood that she will be confirmed swiftly.
Dealing with the situation on the Pak-Afghan border and the threat emanating from there, Hillary said the new administration would work closely with Pakistan and Afghanistan to stamp out violent extremism.
She said the democratically-elected Pakistani government was seeing the fight against extremism as their nation’s own struggle and added she has been encouraged by Islamabad’s strong awareness on the issue.
“We need to deepen our engagement with these and other countries in the region and pursue policies that improve the lives of the Afghan and Pakistani people,” she said in her statement. “We will use all the elements of our power - diplomacy, development and defence - to work with those in Afghanistan and Pakistan, who want to root out Al-Qaeda, the Taliban and other violent extremists who threaten them as well as in what President-elect Obama has called a central front in the fight against terrorism.”
She said the President-elect assigns a high priority to what he calls a “more for more strategy”, in Afghanistan and signalled that the new administration - assuming power next Tuesday (January 20) - would also have a civilian review of counter extremism efforts (through development, etc.) in addition to ongoing military reviews to push a broader comprehensive approach.