I have to admit from what I see going on at the State Department I was wrong to think Hillary Clinton was the best choice as SOS. OK to let myself off the hook a bit I did support her as the #1 candidate with one caveat. I did say she at the time that she needed to bring in a very competent manager to handle running the department at the time because she is not a good manager. Obviously she did not choose a good manager. Still I thought her interpersonal skills and acquaintances with many world leaders made her a good fit for the job. So far her performance shows me President Obama should have picked Bill Richardson or John Kerry.
The Good
The best part about appointing Hillary Clinton as SOS is that Obama got a worlds worth of experience with all the Clinton era special envoys he has been able to appoint to deal with hot spots around the world. Every indication is that the special envoys are doing their jobs very well.
George Mitchell who is having initial success dealing with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict starting with the Israeli settlements issue.
Richard Holbrooke has done a great job getting Pakistan involved in fighting the Taliban, getting Russia to reopen it’s airspace and renegotiating to use the Kyrgyz air base.
Stephen Bosworth special envoy to North Korea has even been invited to disarmament talks with North Korea just recently.
President Obama and secretary Clinton have made constructive use of former presidents like Former President Clinton’s visit to free two American journalist from North Korea.
The Bad
I am furious that the State Department has extended the contract to Xe (formally known as Blackwater) for flying around embassy officials via the cynically named “Presidential Airways”. Yes it was the company Dyncorp International who asked the State Department to retain Xe but this seems like a total lack of foresight with State Department management. You would think almost seven months after the State Department said they would no longer use Blackwater (Xe) was long enough for the transition.
Another blunder on the Clinton watch was her childish behavior with the North Korean government I had pointed out in a previous article.
The Bluto
A scandal is brewing at the American Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan that may be the first major scandal of the Obama presidency if allegations are sustained and we find out that allot of the bad behavior occurred under President Obama’s watch. Previous reports described what was going on at the American embassy in Kabul as being “Animal House” type behavior.
“Security assigned to watch guards at Kabul embassy
KABUL – The U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan has banned alcohol and assigned American personnel to watch the embassy’s security guards following allegations of lewd behavior and sexual misconduct at their living quarters.”
We will have to wait for details about the embassy scandal after the official investigation is over. We all know that Condoleezza Rice was a massive disappointment as SOS before SOS Clinton like she was as National Security Adviser. So to give SOS Clinton a little leeway much of what we are learning could be lingering problems from Rice’s watch.
Ultimately, the buck stops at President Obama’s desk for making the controversial selection of Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State in the first place. I am not a Clinton hater induced by the group think promoted by Huffington Post and anybody but Clinton progressives though I do think she ran a GOP campaign. SOS Clinton needs to straighten up her operation real quick to gain credibility.
KQ, thanks as always for your honest and fearless POV!
I don’t agree completely in this case, I think the problems in the military and their behavior are endemic. We can all agree that Hillary hasn’t done anything to encourage such behavior.
It is instead consistent with the abuses in Iraq within the military, of course including Abu Ghraib.
It is an ugly part of the current military culture which still hasn’t changed substantially since Bush left office.
You have religious dogma merged with our military training them that non-Christians are inferior, there is a lot of chauvinism and even rapes of female soldiers that goes unspoken.
The military has bred the troops to be who they are. Yes, strict oversight by the SOS’ office could help to limit such behavior but we need a huge reform in the way the military operates.
There are many soldiers who are compassionate, principled human beings and would never participate in such things. Still, far too many are led or allowed to walk down this nasty path and that needs to come to an end.
BTW, I am not a huge Hillary fan. She, Bill and the rest of the DLC are happy to be just a small step away from most Republican views, remember Bill Clinton’s phrase “triangulation” to describe how he co-opted Republican issues from them?
I felt that Hillary and Bill really crossed the line during the primary period. However, when they came together to support Obama at the Convention and they campaigned for him, I put aside my resentment as they had about Obama.
I do think John Kerry would have made a stronger SoS, he is more of a diplomat. However, as you say, much of the team she has brought in appear to be making positive impacts.
Again, this behavior in Afghanistan is reflective of the Bush years, a huge ocean liner takes a long time to turn around, it’s going to take time to correct course on how our military has been brought along.
I hope this incident impresses on Hillary and Obama the importance of reforming the military.
I have to stick up for HIllary as SOS. I like the direction we’re taking with the rest of the world. I can’t think of a place we’re stumbling except Afghanistan. And I’m just a peacenik. I want us home. I like her stance on nation building in that country and increasing foreign aid. The problems I see stem primarily from the use of contractors in military functions, and the Dept of Defense has to share some of the blame for that decision.
I think she’s a doing a great job. Her only slip, imho, was yelling at that college student. She could have cut him a little slack. But it just shows how tough she is. I still think it was a good pick.
I really never once thought that HRC was a good choice for SOS, she had been defeated in the primaries and brought a lot of baggage to her new position. Ultimately as witnessed on several occasions in the past, she has cast aside diplomacy to become defensive, not a very good image to post around the world.
That was my take too!
Oh really, so much huff and fluff. Your implication is that Madame Secretary has wisely had installed special envoys because she sucks at interpersonal skills, and they are responsible for her success in those specific areas, yet at Bagram she is to blame and she alone!! The truth is that the Red Cross has made repeated visits to that prison and we are convention compliant. You don’t even recognize her voice for human rights worldwide, especially the feminist voice. Balderdash. As far as NK, she has treated them exactly as they deserve, no more, no less. Do you think the north-south reconciliation was done without her input? Why does she scare you guys so much?
“Still I thought her interpersonal skills and acquaintances with many world leaders made her a good fit for the job.”
Huh I think her personal interpersonal skills are her best asset.
I specifically questioned her management of the Blackwater contract which is under her bailiwick.
I don’t know all the details about the embassy and said so.
Is the whole scene at the embassy not something to be fixed or am I off base?
Just like Obama has made some early stumbles I think Clinton has as well. The most important thing is I hope they both learned from their mistakes.
Sorry for the attack. For some reason i was fixated on Bagram instead of the embassy. Yes, they must share blame for that and I misread your interpersonal skills comment. I’m defensive about her.
I do understand. I tend to be defensive about certain people too. I always thought most of the criticism people had for HRC was not warranted and far too personal. In fact most of my resentment toward Huffy started by the way she treated the Clintons.
Authored proudly by Sam Slime.
😆 definitely one of her minions.
Well which is it Kquark? It’s Obama’s fault because it occurred on his watch or HRC’s because she needs to “straighten up her operation”? Yet she is to be given “leeway” because of potential “lingering problems from Rice’s watch”? Wern’t these thugs hired under Bush’s watch? If there is anything to be done, it should have begun with HRC who is now SOS, seems to me.
In my efforts to offer a balanced argument and to be fair I was probably too ambiguous. It’s ultimately Obama’s responsibility because he appointed SOS Clinton if this controversy grows. It will be a smear on his presidency and not as much on SOS Clinton.
I direct most of the blame about the Blackwater contract at SOS Clinton since it appears to be simple mismanagement.
I just don’t know enough about the embassy scandal to say who is mostly to blame but you are right they are still mostly Bush hires. I also view the scandal as minor now rather than a systematic problem.
You are absolutely right in your final statement. It’s up to SOS HRC to take care of these problems now and if she does not it’s up to Obama to take action.
The real bottom line is I still hope SOS Clinton works out and these are just temporary problems that can be overcome.
I have to admit, to be perfectly honest, I have lacked faith in O’s SOS choice from day one. This isn’t FRT so I feel more comfortable admitting that though we may not like it, he should have chosen first A MAN. In these questionable times, it seems to me that we can’t AFFORD not to be able to conduct dialogue with nations who won’t entertain same with us just because our representative is a woman (i.e., the Koreans who preferred her husband). And unfortunately, isn’t that true also of some middle easterners as well? EU is on board, but then, our troubles aren’t with EU right now are they? But lastly, her conduct during her campaign remains fresh in my mind and I don’t know…I just don’t know.
I think in this day and age a woman can be just as successful as a man at being SOS. That being said on some missions especially in the Middle East it’s better to use male envoys and ambassadors in negotiations to get results.
I agree! A woman can be just as and perhaps even more successful in numerous arenas but alas…on some missions as you indicate, a male envoy would be better. It’s not just our culture we have to recognize but with those we are negotiating with.
As you point out, there is an important difference between endorsing prejudice and recognizing that prejudice exists more acutely in some cultures.
In Asian and Arab/Persian cultures, women are often viewed as second class citizens. Recognizing that is of course not condoning it.
As offensive as we find it, I too think wack leaders like Kim Jong Il are more likely to see meeting with a powerful woman as difficult.
So, I agree, considering the bullshit prejudice of some out there in the world, a man as SoS could have an easier time than a woman being effective.
Still, we can’t allow others’ prejudices dictate how we make decisions.
We just need to be realistic about the way some parts of the world really are even if it goes against what we know to be true when it comes to equality.
Foul!!!!
LMAO. Go get ’em Sharon!
Hey Suzy!
Sharonh, nice to see you around!
Guess I don’t really need to tell you not to be shy about expressing yourself around here…heh!
VegasBabe, this site is indeed intended to be a place where we can all honestly express our own POVs without a second thought, I’m very pleased you see it that way and I guarantee you and everyone else here, that’s the way it’s going to stay.