Foreign Policy: Secretary Clinton Defines Goals & Challenges At CFR

Yesterday, Secretary Clinton spoke and took questions at the Council On Foreign Relations in Washington DC.

The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an independent, non-partisan think-tank dedicated to increasing understanding of the world and the foreign policy choices facing the United States.

This is how, in his introduction of Secretary Clinton, Richard Haass (President of the CFR) framed the challenges facing Secretary Clinton and the Obama administration after 6 months in office.

“Against the backdrop of unprecedented economic difficulties, the US must contend with the particular challenges posed by North Korea, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, Iraq, The Middle-East, Darfur, Honduras, just to name a few. There are as well the worldwide challenges of climate change. poverty, and protectionism, to health, terrorism, and non proliferation, the challenges that are really the hallmark of this era.”

After Richard Haass’s  introduction, Secretary Clinton started by this statement:

“The international agenda today is unforgiving-two wars, conflicts in the Middle-East, on going stress of violent extremism and nuclear proliferation, global recession, climate change, hunger and diseases and a widening gap between the rich and the poor. All of these challenges affect America’s security and prosperity, and they all threaten global security and progress. But they are no reason to despair about the future. The same forces that compound our problems-economic interdependence, open borders, and the speedy movement of information, capital goods, services and people, are also part of the solution.”

After her general introduction, Secretary Clinton made some comments about specific challenges and issues.

In regard to Iran she said:

“We watched the energy of Iran’s election with great admiration only to be appalled by the manner in which the government used violence to quell the voices of the Iranian people, and then tried to hide its actions by arresting foreign journalists and national, and expelling them and cutting off access to technology.”

Secretary Clinton went on to say that refusing to deal with Iran has not worked in term of preventing Iran  to acquire nuclear weapons. She added that President Obama and herself had no illusion that “Dialogue with the Islamic Republic will guarantee success of any kind”, but she reiterated that engaging the Iranian current leadership was a necessity.

After her opening statement, Secretary Clinton took questions on topics ranging from Iran, Pakistan and the hope of peace in the Middle-East.

Today, Secretary of State Clinton is traveling  to India & Thailand.

For the full transcript of the CFR’s event, click here.