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WASHINGTON -- Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is accelerating a campaign to place her stamp on U.S. foreign policy, co-hosting a high-profile summit with China next week and arguing her case in a blitz of policy speeches and television appearances.
But the emerging structure of the Obama administration's foreign-policy team could challenge the secretary's influence on some of the pressing issues Washington faces in the coming months.
The U.S. point man on Iran, Dennis Ross, recently shifted to the White House from the State Department because, White House officials say, President Barack Obama wanted Mr. Ross's expertise on the Middle East to help develop regional strategies inside the National Security Council. Foreign-policy power has traditionally rested with the White House and National Security Council.
Meanwhile, the State Department's special envoys on Arab-Israeli peace and Central Asia, George Mitchell and Richard Holbrooke, have been given broad autonomy and power to make policy decisions -- though the Obama administration stressed that both men report through Mrs. Clinton.
These moves have prompted questions about how much input Mrs. Clinton has in several of Washington's major national-security issues.
"She's acquiesced in creating an empire of envoys on hot-button issues (Pakistan, Iran, Arab-Israeli) and in doing so ceded a lot of diplomatic real estate to high-level negotiators," said Aaron David Miller, who worked at the State Department from 1978 to 2003 and is a Mideast expert at the nonpartisan Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. "And that's not good if you want to be an effective secretary of state."
Aides to Mrs. Clinton say she is playing a critical role in formulating Washington's diplomatic response to the Iranian nuclear threat. A White House official said the personnel decisions haven't eroded Mrs. Clinton's power, and were made to strengthen policy making.
In recent weeks, Mrs. Clinton has given a string of addresses focused on outlining her vision for U.S. foreign policy. She is scheduled to appear Sunday for an hourlong interview on NBC's "Meet the Press," where she will lay out her views on issues ranging from North Korea's nuclear program to global warming, according to her aides. And next week, Mrs. Clinton, with Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, will lead the U.S. side in the U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue, placing her at the forefront of shaping perhaps the U.S.'s most important bilateral relationship.
These activities follow a month during which the secretary was recuperating from a broken elbow, had to forgo foreign travel, and thus had a lower profile. Mrs. Clinton's absence fed the perception that she had been marginalized.
Mr. Obama has often assumed the role of America's chief diplomat, traveling widely and enjoying popularity abroad. And Messrs. Mitchell and Holbrooke's globetrotting has placed them regularly in the international spotlight.
Mrs. Clinton's aides stress that the secretary continued working through her surgery and rehabilitation. Members of her staff say she has hosted a string of private lunches and meetings with foreign-policy thinkers to highlight the tenets of her strategic vision.
"We've obviously also worked with special envoys, the White House, the bureaus to develop a framework that does, I think, guide our policy," said a senior State Department official who has worked on Mrs. Clinton's policy outreach.
A number of former U.S. officials and foreign diplomats said they believe Mrs. Clinton's naming of special envoys has marked an improvement from previous foreign-policy structures. They note that former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice directly engaged in the Arab-Israeli dispute during her last two years in office, drawing her away from other issues. They also say Mr. Holbrooke's involvement in issues in Afghanistan and Pakistan has given a civilian a major role in a U.S. policy that has been dominated by the Pentagon.
"There's a much clearer articulation of what they want to do in the region," said Teresita Schaffer, a South Asia expert at Washington's Center for Strategic and International Studies and a former U.S. diplomat.
Mrs. Clinton's framework focuses on traditional global challenges such as nuclear proliferation and terrorism, while also broadening U.S. diplomacy to address issues such as global warming, economics and women's rights. Mrs. Clinton has also emphasized her preference for advancing U.S. interests through what she calls "soft power": partnerships with businesses, women's groups and other nongovernment bodies to induce lasting change.
"We'll go beyond states to create opportunities for nonstate actors and individuals to contribute to solutions," Mrs. Clinton said this month.
On a trip to India this week, Mrs. Clinton was already putting her philosophy into action. She met with film stars, corporate chieftains and environmental groups before holding any of her high-level discussions with Indian government officials.
By JAY SOLOMON
Write to Jay Solomon at jay.solomon@wsj.com
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124846010740779623.html
But the emerging structure of the Obama administration's foreign-policy team could challenge the secretary's influence on some of the pressing issues Washington faces in the coming months.
The U.S. point man on Iran, Dennis Ross, recently shifted to the White House from the State Department because, White House officials say, President Barack Obama wanted Mr. Ross's expertise on the Middle East to help develop regional strategies inside the National Security Council. Foreign-policy power has traditionally rested with the White House and National Security Council.
Meanwhile, the State Department's special envoys on Arab-Israeli peace and Central Asia, George Mitchell and Richard Holbrooke, have been given broad autonomy and power to make policy decisions -- though the Obama administration stressed that both men report through Mrs. Clinton.
These moves have prompted questions about how much input Mrs. Clinton has in several of Washington's major national-security issues.
"She's acquiesced in creating an empire of envoys on hot-button issues (Pakistan, Iran, Arab-Israeli) and in doing so ceded a lot of diplomatic real estate to high-level negotiators," said Aaron David Miller, who worked at the State Department from 1978 to 2003 and is a Mideast expert at the nonpartisan Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. "And that's not good if you want to be an effective secretary of state."
Aides to Mrs. Clinton say she is playing a critical role in formulating Washington's diplomatic response to the Iranian nuclear threat. A White House official said the personnel decisions haven't eroded Mrs. Clinton's power, and were made to strengthen policy making.
In recent weeks, Mrs. Clinton has given a string of addresses focused on outlining her vision for U.S. foreign policy. She is scheduled to appear Sunday for an hourlong interview on NBC's "Meet the Press," where she will lay out her views on issues ranging from North Korea's nuclear program to global warming, according to her aides. And next week, Mrs. Clinton, with Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, will lead the U.S. side in the U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue, placing her at the forefront of shaping perhaps the U.S.'s most important bilateral relationship.
These activities follow a month during which the secretary was recuperating from a broken elbow, had to forgo foreign travel, and thus had a lower profile. Mrs. Clinton's absence fed the perception that she had been marginalized.
Mr. Obama has often assumed the role of America's chief diplomat, traveling widely and enjoying popularity abroad. And Messrs. Mitchell and Holbrooke's globetrotting has placed them regularly in the international spotlight.
Mrs. Clinton's aides stress that the secretary continued working through her surgery and rehabilitation. Members of her staff say she has hosted a string of private lunches and meetings with foreign-policy thinkers to highlight the tenets of her strategic vision.
"We've obviously also worked with special envoys, the White House, the bureaus to develop a framework that does, I think, guide our policy," said a senior State Department official who has worked on Mrs. Clinton's policy outreach.
A number of former U.S. officials and foreign diplomats said they believe Mrs. Clinton's naming of special envoys has marked an improvement from previous foreign-policy structures. They note that former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice directly engaged in the Arab-Israeli dispute during her last two years in office, drawing her away from other issues. They also say Mr. Holbrooke's involvement in issues in Afghanistan and Pakistan has given a civilian a major role in a U.S. policy that has been dominated by the Pentagon.
"There's a much clearer articulation of what they want to do in the region," said Teresita Schaffer, a South Asia expert at Washington's Center for Strategic and International Studies and a former U.S. diplomat.
Mrs. Clinton's framework focuses on traditional global challenges such as nuclear proliferation and terrorism, while also broadening U.S. diplomacy to address issues such as global warming, economics and women's rights. Mrs. Clinton has also emphasized her preference for advancing U.S. interests through what she calls "soft power": partnerships with businesses, women's groups and other nongovernment bodies to induce lasting change.
"We'll go beyond states to create opportunities for nonstate actors and individuals to contribute to solutions," Mrs. Clinton said this month.
On a trip to India this week, Mrs. Clinton was already putting her philosophy into action. She met with film stars, corporate chieftains and environmental groups before holding any of her high-level discussions with Indian government officials.
By JAY SOLOMON
Write to Jay Solomon at jay.solomon@wsj.com
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124846010740779623.html
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