Secretary Clinton Speaks at Council on Foreign Relations
By Grace Thompson on 09/10/2010 @ 04:00 PM
“Our goal is to establish productive relationships that survive the times when we do not agree and that enable us to continue to work together.” – Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
On Wednesday, September 8, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gave a critical foreign policy address to the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington, DC. This powerful speech has garnered much positive praise. In it, she calls for “a new American moment,” “a moment when our global leadership is essential.” She spoke about the importance of building relationships in all regions of the world and building support for our strongest allies in the European Union and NATO. “Emerging areas of influence,” like China, India, and Brazil will be international players in the 21st century. Laying a strong foundation for these relationships will help reinforce democratic values and promote peace and cooperation, just as building our relationship of mutual “respect and responsibility” with Russia was indispensible in the last century.
Addressing areas which pose the most threat and cause the most concern to the United States, like Afghanistan, Iran, and Darfur, Secretary Clinton said that our policy is focused on a strong partnership between the Departments of State and Defense, but that diplomacy was the first arm of that strategy. She said combating these issues would only be possible if the United States was an “active participant,” if we had the support of our allies and countries in those regions, and if we continued to build positive relationships with the citizens in, and governments of these countries.
Secretary Clinton reflected on America’s role throughout the world during the last century. Americans responded to a rapidly changing world in issue areas ranging from increased communication, and transportation, to advancements in weapons technology. America will renew its commitment to leadership and continue to strengthen the relationships we have built. “We seek to build a network of alliances and partnerships, regional organizations and global institutions, that is durable and dynamic enough to help us meet today’s challenges and adapt to threats that we cannot even conceive of, just as our parents never dreamt of melting glaciers or dirty bombs.”
The No Limits Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization, which means we cannot post material that is political or partisan. Comments or postings reflect the opinions of the author only, and in no way reflect the position of No Limits. No Limits does not endorse or guarantee the accuracy of any posting. If you send a blog post to No Limits and we publish it on the site, we will note you as the author but we cannot pay for any submissions. Because of space considerations, not all posts submitted may be published. We are not responsible for the content of or for third party rights in material posted by you. For more information, please visit our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.
