Hillary Clinton is Wheels Down in Doha, Qatar *update*
Well, she’s started the first leg of her trip and due to the time zone difference, I don’t expect information to trickle out in a convenient fashion (for those here in the States at least). From AJ English:
Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, has begun a three-day visit to the Gulf for talks aimed at gathering Arab support for countering Iran’s disputed nuclear programme and reviving the Arab-Israeli peace process.
Clinton arrived in Doha, the capital of the Gulf nation of Qatar, on Sunday, where she went into a series of high-level meetings before she was to address an annual US-Islamic World Forum.
Her speech at the forum comes eight months after Barack Obama, the US president, called for a fresh start in relations with the Muslim world during a similar speech in Egypt last June.
Clinton was expected to elaborate on Obama’s message, with a focus on winning backing for the resumption of Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations, which have been frozen for more than a year…
I already posted this schedule but here it is again. Her schedule for today:
TBD AM LOCAL (EST +8 hours) Secretary Clinton holds a Bilateral Meeting with Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan, in Doha, Qatar.
(POOLED PRESS COVERAGE)TBD AM LOCAL Secretary Clinton meets with the Staff and Families of Embassy Doha, in Doha, Qatar.
(POOLED PRESS COVERAGE)TBD AM LOCAL Secretary Clinton meets with the Amir, Shaykh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, and the Qatar Foundation Chairperson and Consort of the Amir, Shaykh Mozah bint Nasser al-Misned, in Doha, Qatar.
(POOLED PRESS COVERAGE)TBD PM LOCAL Secretary Clinton delivers Remarks at the U.S.-Islamic World Forum, in Doha, Qatar.
(MEDIA TO BE DETERMINED BY U.S.-ISLAMIC WORLD FORUM)
**UPDATE**: It’s around 11:15a.m and Hillary is about to speak at the U.S.- Islamic World Forum. Hopefully I will be able to get a video of this speech because I am looking forward to hearing it. I’ll also add more photos when I can get my hands on some which aren’t rights-managed. So I’ll just post this one for now- she’s arriving at the Forum to speak (Doha, Qatar):
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton attends the U.S.- Islamic World Forum in Doha February 14, 2010.
UPDATE II: I’m searching for a video of her speech but here is another updated news report from AJ English about it:
Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of State, has echoed a call from Barack Obama, the US president, for a fresh start with the Muslim world, but she warned that forging a stronger relationship would take time.
Addressing an annual US-Islamic World Forum in Doha, Qatar on Sunday, Clinton said the Obama administration’s efforts in the region have often been “obscured by suspicion and misunderstanding”.
“It is time, as President Obama said in his speech in Cairo, for a new beginning based on a commitment to open dialogue and equal partnership. A new beginning that confronts the tensions between us and commits all of us to doing the hard work necessary to resolve them.”
Clinton also addressed concerns that Obama’s call during his speech last June was “insufficient and insincere”.
“Building a stronger relationship cannot happen overnight. It takes patience, persistence and hard work from all of us,” she said.
“We are and will remain committed to the president’s vision for a new beginning.”
Iran sanctions
Clinton’s comments at the forum, which is jointly organised by the Qatari foreign ministry and the US Brookings Institution, came only hours after she arrived in Doha for the start of a three-day visit to the region.
She is using the trip to win Arab backing for the resumption of Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations and tougher sanctions against Iran.
The US is making efforts to enlist the UN Security Council to impose a fourth round of sanctions on Iran over its controversial nuclear programme, which Tehran says is to simply to meet its civilian needs.
“Iran leaves the international community little choice but to impose greater costs for its provocative steps,” Clinton said.
“Together, we are encouraging Iran to reconsider its dangerous policy decisions.”
US officials hinted that Saudi Arabia could help in that effort diplomatically by offering Beijing guarantees it would meet Chinese oil requirements, a step that might ease Beijing’s reluctance to impose further sanctions on Iran.
China, which wields a veto on the Security Council, has lucrative commercial relationships with Iran and, along with Russia, has worked to dilute previous sanctions resolutions.
‘Sharpen the question’
“We believe that all countries have a part to play in helping to sharpen the question for Iran,” Jeffrey Feltman, the US assistant secretary of state, said.
“We would expect them [the Saudis] to use these visits, to use their relationships, in ways that can help increase the pressure that Iran would feel,” he added.
Clinton is to hold talks with King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia on Monday…
U. S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, left meets Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in Doha the state capital of Qatar, Sunday, Feb. 14, 2010. Clinton arrived Sunday in Qatar, where she is holding talks with top government leaders and speaking at the U.S.-Islamic World Forum. (AP Photo/Maneesh Bakshi)
And MORE photos!:
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I have been watching her speech live on Aljazeera English TV. She’s great!
Ooooh, I was just over on AJ.com and didn’t see it was on there. I’ll go find AJ TV now! Thanks!
I can’t get the live-streaming version of the speech- everything looks only Windows-compatible! Grrrrrrrr….
Oh wait, you are watching on TV, ie. television, not their website AJ TV? Because I’m on their website (I practically never watch TV anymore so I always assume when someone says TV they mean a live-stream on the computer
)
Yes, I am watching it on TV and not on the net. Aljazeera TV is generally better than CNN for world affairs.
I agree. In fact, I have found that most international news is better than CNN or any other American news company – even when it comes to our national news!
Wow, thanks for the update. I can’t even find this stuff on CNN!
This blog is a thing of beauty- you are on top of the news! I have been watching the morning shows and haven’t heard a peep about Hillary already being in Qatar let alone that she’s giving a major speech. Keep us updated, as always!
Oh, and I don’t get AJ English – I just checked it’s not part of my cable line-up. Damn. If you find a video later, please post it later Stacy.
I do not have AJ TV or cable for that matter. But I’ll be checking AJ’s website for a video posting. Thanks for keeping us so well informed!
Ok, I have to have a little rant, so humor me:
I wish I didn’t feel like we are traveling down the same road we did in the run-up to the Iraq War. I’d like to think we learned something from our mistakes in that regard and yet all of the most hawkish people who claimed Saddam was an imminent threat due to his nuclear weapons program are now saying the same thing about Iran. If we were to attack Iran’s nuclear sites we very well might deal a fatal blow the green movement in Iran, endanger Israel and lose support amongst moderate Arab countries in the Mideast.
Nobody wants Iran to get nukes but there is absolutely no evidence that they even have the *capability* to create them, let alone *contain* the quantities (and concentrations) of enriched Uranium they would need. How many nations can we attack because we fear they may one day get their hands on weapons we don’t want them to have? India has nukes. Pakistan has nukes (far more dangerous a situation than Iran in my view), Israel has nukes, China has nukes, and on and on and on…And it is all largely due to the US-Soviet Cold War buildup- thanks to our ridiculous belief that we needed an arsenal large enough to destroy the earth about 200 times over, other nations were able to get their hands on weapons and the technology needed to create them. While we were all busy celebrating the fall of the Evil Empire (the Soviet Union), the Soviet military literally just walked away from nuclear weapons sites (and the weapons contained therein) and actually LOST some of them- guess whose hands they are probably in now? To this day Russia won’t come clean about exactly how many nukes have gone missing.
Oh, damn, I’m just rambling and I’ve lost my train of thought…
Happy Valentines Day …LOL
Oh, and I’m working on a photo bomb btw.
Well msnbc, and cnn arent doing a good job, and I am sorry to say cause I know most of you guys hate the network but foxnews is the only network that has mentioned or showed Hillary beign overseas and showed her wheels down.
Well I don’t think we are or should attack Iran, but stacy I don’t know about there being no evidence that they have the capablity. Unlike Iraq who denied and didn’t have weapons of mass destruction(at least none we found) Iran’s president keeps screaming that they will have and that they have increased uraninum enrichment. So they could possibly have the ability but I am not sure what if anything we should really do about considering the United States is the only country to use nuclear weapons against another nation do we really think Iran will attack Israel or the US?
Um Stacy, in her speech Clinton did not advocate using force against Iran. However she made it clear that the U.S. is determine to prevent Iran from developing its nuclear program and to that end, is working towards greater sanctions if Iran does not cooperate. AJ Tv did not broadcast the Q& A follow up, so I don’t know if she expanded on the administration policy with regard to Iran. Just listening to the administration this week, one does not know what to think about the gravity or lack thereof of the situation; Gibbs was disparaging Iranian pronouncements on their nuclear enrichment program early this week and today, Clinton is sounding the alarm.
Alinosof- Yes, I know Hillary has not advocated the use of military force against Iran and I certainly didn’t mean to imply she did. I guess I didn’t make that clear and I should have. I had just finished watching Fareed Zakaria where he had two guest on who were arguing that the use of force may be necessary and more and more we are seeing editorials popping up making that claim. That’s kind of why it was on my mind.
Rachel, thanks for your thoughts on this.
Obviously I don’t have access to secret intelligence info but I would say a couple of things. First, bragging about having nuclear weapons capabilities is kind of like the middle eastern version of “the boys with the biggest toys win” if you know what I mean. Saddam could have settled the issue once and for all if he had allowed the inspectors again in 2002 but he didn’t- making people *think* you have WMDs is almost as good as having them, without all the nuisance of actually having to create and store them. Because Israel already has nukes, Iran plays the politics of the region and exaggerates it’s capabilities. Even the US right now doesn’t believe they have the 20% enriched Uranium necessary for the medical purposes they want to use it for.
Also, the last National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) which pooled all the intelligence from all of the US’ intelligence agencies, concluded that Iran was no where near obtaining the technology necessary to create a nuclear weapons program- that finding pissed a lot of people off in the US and Israel and now I hear some in Congress in the U.S. and some in Israel want the findings “re-written” to justify sanctions and possible military strikes. How accurate that is, I don’t know.
I don’t see any basis in international law which would allow us to attack Iran and one of the unintended consequences of attacking Iraq was that much of the world (an in particular, two key members of the Security Council- China and Russia), don’t trust us now. Imagine what this looks like to the Arab world- we attacked and invaded Afghanistan and eight years later we are still there, the U.S. is engaging in missile strikes in Pakistan on the Afghan border, we invaded Iraq and lied to the whole world to justify it and now some in the U.S. want regime change and military action against Iran. How do we win hearts and minds in the Arab world when we continue to provide the more radical elements of Arab society with exactly what they want- they are using us as a recruiting tool at this point. The CIA said that after our failure in Mogadishu (ie. Black Hawk down) during the Clinton presidency Osama Bin Laden’s goal was to get the US involved in “bleeding wars” all over the middle east because not only would we would be spread so thin but it would give the impression that the US (and Israel) were waging an all-out war on Islam and that we sought to control the oil-rich nations in the region. Well, it looks like we’ve fallen right into his trap.
I think ideally what has to happen is that moderate Muslim nations (and some not-so-moderate ones like Saudi Arabia) have to put pressure on Iran to cease their enrichment activities or at least allow regular weapons inspectors in. Also, any regime change in Iran has to come from within. I think it’s a huge mistake to think that the Iranian protesters want the U.S. and it’s allies to come charging in on a white horse to save them. They are a proud people and they resent foreign interference (as we learned during our last failed attempt at regime change there when the Shah was overthrown). Most Middle East observers believe that if the US or Israel were to strike Iranian targets the people of Iran would feel duty-bound to support their govt. And in the US, we pretty much would react the same way.
I guess I am still hoping behind-the-scenes diplomacy will work. Maybe I’m naive, but I just don’t think the use of force in this situation will improve the security situation in the region.
I saw that interview on Fareed Zakaria and those guys were pretty clear that they thought a military strike by the U.S. was practically inevitable.
It’s no big secret that some in the U.S. have been putting pressure on members of congress and the admin to argue for military strikes and I agree, lately we have been hearing more and more of that in places like the NYT and WSJ. But for all the reasons Stacy mentioned I think the US would have a hard time convincing our allies that it’s ours/their best interest.
Sanctions are tricky- more and more people in Iran are expressing concern that they’ll be the ones to suffer if the U.S. imposes really harsh economic sanctions on the country. It does seem like these oppressive dictators always manage to take care of themselves at the expense of their people.
I don’t know, I really don’t.
Steve- well, as usual I probably should have kept my big mouth shut. But watching that Zakaria interview kind of annoyed me. Also, about a month ago Lindsay Graham and another Senator who I can’t remember said on a Sunday morning show that we should use military force- I was kind of surprised that were that up front about it.
I know its easy to be a critic of our policy at this point and I’d be lying like a rug if I said I had any answer or solution to the problem. Because I don’t. I certainly don’t envy this administration’s predicament. I do think ideally, other nations like Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, China and Turkey have to play a big role in reigning in Iran. Apparently Turkey is trying to work behind the scenes to get Iran to cut their nonsense out.
I pray that the iranian government implodes from within(viva la revolution) before some nation actually does use military action against them.
Well Lets all hope that the Secretary can use her diplomacy well. God Speed Madame Secretary.
CNN just *finally* mentioned that Hillary Clinton just gave a speech in Qatar.
I just saw this over on AJ English and it is relevant to this discussion. This is just an excerpt:
“She also stressed that the administration of Barack Obama, the US president, wants a peaceful solution to the nuclear dispute, but she said that it patience will eventually reach a limit.
“I would like to figure out a way to handle it in as peaceful an approach possible, and I certainly welcome any meaningful engagement, but … we don’t want to be engaging while they are building their bomb.”
Nazanine Moshiri, Al Jazeera’s correspondent in the Iranian capital, Tehran, said Clinton’s assertion of evidence of an Iranian nuclear weapon programme indicates a shift in US rhetoric.
“Most Iranians will be quite surprised by that because a few days ago the White House said Iran wasn’t capable of reaching 20 per cent uranium enrichment,” she said.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/02/2010214172432220260.html
I hate to say it but that kind of sounds like the U.S. is seriously considering a military option.
I’m a bit confused. The IAEA released a report recently saying that don’t have the capacity for weaponization and the WH has said they don’t think they have acquired the capability to enrich at 20 per cent, so how do we conclude they have an active weapons program?
Steve- If I understand Clinton’s remarks she seems to be sending a message to Iran that they can’t string the world along forever and all options are on the table. It does seem like her statements were a bit more strongly-worded than in the past and although I don’t think that she was saying she believes they can enrich uranium to 20% because the State Dept. has been saying all week they don’t believe Iran’s latest claim. I guess what she’s saying is one way or another the US is going to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.
I guess what worries me (and I’m going to sound a bit like a libertarian here
) is can we sustain this policy of preventative military action over the long-term? Because it sounds an awful lot like the Bush Doctrine. Is this going to be our role going forward and where do we draw the line? If the UAE wants nukes or another country do we go down a similar path with them? I just don’t know.
Interesting debate guys! Every one is raising good points. At least we are able to have a civil debate about it which isn’t the case on some web sites. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone here insult anyone else for their views. Except that guy AmericanBill, who is pretty creepy.
Thain- well I certainly think civil debate is preferable. We don’t always have to agree and quite frankly, I think I learn more by discussing things with people who have different views than I do. As for American Bill, I’ve blocked him but he keeps popping up under diff. accounts.
Stacy, thank you for giving us updates and photos on the journey of our beloved SOS. She gives us the real hope.
Just saw this over at Foreign Policy- there does seem to be a new, major push for a military option with Iran and the Obama admin. is going to be under some serious pressure. Maybe that’s why Clinton’s remarks today seemed a bit more pointed? Dunno.
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2010/02/08/who_wants_to_bomb_iran?page=0,0
And I think another important factor in any international action toward Iran needs to be Iran’s own internal political instability. The courage of the protest movement is very impressive, and they are not giving up despite hangings! Along with the citizen protest, it has been reported many times that there is a schism among the religious leaders.
All of the major actions Iran’s government has been taking internally and externally since June 12 have been impacted by this political situation. And nobody knows how it will play out.
I hope that religious belief is not split into the causes of unrest and wars between countries. because this issue could be used as a trigger hostility.
now i want to see hillary in israel in the same type of forum,i want to see how pro israel she really is.