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.
"If there are going to be more troops from the US, there also needs to be more support for that mission from NATO and there needs to be more work done by the government of Afghanistan and the people. And I would add that the more for more strategy is not just on the military side, it's on the civilian and development side as well," she stated in response to a question.
"We have to look at Afghanistan and Pakistan together, particularly the border region. You have seen with your own eyes the elements of resistance and extremism that have taken root there," the former first lady of the US States argued. "And it is imperative that we work with our friends in both Pakistan, Afghanistan, because it is not only about denying Al-Qaeda and other extremists groups a safe haven, this is about persuading those two countries that their security and their future is also at risk.
"And I am encouraged that the democratically-elected government of Pakistan seems to be much more aware of how it is their fight, not just ours," the senator from New York, who has been a member of the influential committee and visited the regional several times, told her colleagues in the first formal policy remarks on US policy towards the region under the incoming administration.
Continuing, she said, "The government of Afghanistan, as you know, the Vice President-elect was just in both countries, is going to be presented with alternatives from the Obama Administration that we think are not only in the interest of our overall mission but in their interest as well.
"So this will be a collaboration.... So I anticipate senator having a civilian review and civilian presence that will be the counterpart of the military review and the military presence."
Senator John Kerry chaired the Foreign Relations Committee, succeeding Vice President-elect Joseph Biden.
President-elect Barack Obama will be sworn in on January 20, succeeding President George W Bush, who completed two four-year terms in office.
In her statement at the hearing - that marked the first outlining of the broad contours of the foreign policy the incoming Obama Administration is likely to pursue - Hillary, 61, emphasized that "foreign policy must be based on a marriage of principles and pragmatism, not rigid ideology. On facts and evidence, not emotion or prejudice."
She underlined the importance of the use of "smart power" in the US foreign policy approach and said diplomacy will be vanguard of American foreign policy under the new administration.
"We must use what has been called 'smart power', the full range of tools at our disposal. With 'smart power', diplomacy will be the vanguard of foreign policy." The United States, she said, "must build a world with more partners and fewer adversaries."
"America cannot solve the most pressing problems on our own and the world cannot solve them without America."
The panel's ranking Republican, Senator Richard Lugar, praised Clinton, calling her "the epitome of a big leaguer" whose presence could open new opportunities for American diplomacy.
But Lugar also raised questions about the issue of former President Bill Clinton's fundraising work and its relation to her wife's new post. Lugar said that the only way for Hillary Clinton to avoid a potential conflict of interest due to her husband's charity is to forswear any new foreign contributions. The Indiana senator said the situation poses a "unique complication" that requires "great care and transparency".
Agencies add: In the latest twist to her trail-blazing political career, she also told the Committee that America could not "give up" on Middle East peace.
"I believe American leadership has been wanting, but is still wanted," she said.
She said the Obama administration, which takes office January 20, will try a "new approach" by using diplomacy towards Iran.
She spoke of "its alleged sponsorship of terrorism, its continuing interference with the functioning of other governments, and its pursuit of nuclear weapons."
But she said she was taking no option off the table, even apparently military might, to stop Tehran going nuclear.
She promised a "comprehensive" terrorism strategy to root out Al-Qaeda, and like the Bush administration, warned the greatest threat to America was that weapons of mass destruction would fall into the hands of terrorists.
She said the Obama administration would seek to reduce global nuclear stockpiles and proliferation.
In line with Obama's campaign promises, she said the new administration would reach out to old friends, including Europe, India, Japan and South Korea and seem to forge new alliances and to diminish the lists of US enemies.
"As we focus on Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan, we must also actively pursue a strategy; that effectively persuades both Iran and Syria to abandon their dangerous behaviour and become constructive regional actors; that strengthens our relationships with Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, other Arab states, with Turkey, and with our partners in the Gulf to involve them in securing a lasting peace in the region.