CNN

If thugs took over the lot next door and started shooting into my house, and there were no cops to call, I'd get a bulldozer. What is Israel doing wrong?!!

No Hillary = No Obama= bitter PUMA

get over it lady, man or whatever you are.....isn't sad that all you have left to do is BASH Obama at every turn for the next 4 years or more? From what I know of SOS Clinton she wouldn't want the support of your type anyway.

All those who are condemning Israel, how would you feel if you were having your markets nailed bombed, your buses blown up, and your soldiers kidnapped? God, imagine the response that the U.S. would have to such aggression. I wish like you do that the region could come to a peaceful agreement, but I don't think it's likely at this point and I don't blame Israel one bit for defending itself. They are sending a clear message to Hamas and the terrorists who want to hurt them, and I say more power to 'em.

With that said, I think that Clinton will make a good Secretary of State. Only time will tell though.

WHY DON'T THEY CALL "GAZA" PALESTINE ?
AND RAMALLA PALESTINE ?

AND HAVE THE JEWISH PEOPLE LIVE ON THEIR OWN LAND, INSTEAD OF BUILDING HOUSES IN GAZA ?

WHAT'S WRONG WITH LIVING IN ISREAL ? WHY DO THEY HAVE TO EXPAND TO ARAB TERRITORY ??

Houston Texas

Just curious, is there anyone the people who support Obama don't hate. For all your talk of hope and change, you are one nasty, hate filled bunch. Is this what he inspires in you.....kind of scary!

Hillary Clinton is going to be 10 times better than Ms. Rice. We will see great things come from the Obama administration.

TO-Al, atheist from California January 1st, 2009 9:56 pm ET
Hamas must stop firing rockets and must recognize Israel. Being religious lunatics as they are, supported and paid by Iran, it is unlikely they'd do that. Which makes inevitable that Israel will remove them by force.Don't think I am a blind supporter of militarism: I was against invasion into Iraq, I do believe Bush, Rumsfeld and Cheney must be in prison…. but in this case I support Israel and I think blame for violence is far more on Hamas (and Hesbollah).
***YOU ARE SOOOOOO RIGHT !!!!****Hillary and Obama are Fired Up and Reaby to GO !!!!

HRC is going into water over her head. Good thing that we'll have VP Biden on hand for support.

Go Hillary! Please keep the world safe and healthy!!! Godbless u.. U

For starters, we could quit sending billions of foreign aide to Israel that they use for weapons to kill Palestinians, who have as much right to the land as they do. I am not anti-Semitic, but I am anti violence, and it seems to me that we are encouraging this behavior by sending them a limitless supply of armaments and allowing them nuclear arms as well. The Jews appear to have no qualms about killing their neighbors, forcing them into camps, and limiting their access to jobs, food, and basic amenities. There has to be a better solution than them killing each other year after year.

I have every confidence in Hillary as SOS. She has more intelligence, genius and capability in her little finger than Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld had as a threesome!

I am 53 years old; and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been going on longer than I have been on this planet. It is not a case of right and wrong anymore; it is a question of pure hate. While I hesitate to take sides, no human being could stand by and tolerate having rockets fired at them day after day. Perhaps Israel has over reacted; but I have come to the sad conclussion that even giving Palestinians their own homeland would not stop the violence. Until the Arab world gives up it`s mad dream to "Drive the Jews into the sea;" there will never be peace in the Middle East. I truely feel there must be justice for a Palestinian homeland; but Hamas is evil and must be destroyed. I feel the Bush years were wasted in terms of the peace process.

re... bushisuseless

Wow, what can I say...... you lib's are an intelligent bunch (roll on floor laughing!!)

And what scares me is that BO garnered most of his support from folks like this.

If she can strike fear in the leaders of the world like she has in Bill. I feel safer already

The first Clinton almost had it signed between the two parties in January of 2001, but then the shrub took over and never reconvened the summit between Arafat and Barack, and then in February of 2001, Barack called his folks back home.

If we start at the beginning of adminstration instead of the end and have Clinton involved, then there will be no shrub to take office and dismiss all the work accomplished before he took office.

Wow! The repub moderator must be on or a smart person showing how ridiculous some of these whackjobs are.

What country have they been in for the last horrible, no horrendous, eight years? How they can put Condi who was a puppet, and Hillary in the same mindset boggles my mind.

I believe this is like the stock market that Bush Administration messed up....it can only go up and better from here.

What a mess Dubya has made this time! Kind of like him messing up the Texas Rangers team. He just goes around making messes all his life!

I wish Hillary Clinton (and the entire new administration) the best. She (and they) will be dealing with an over-full plate.

I thought Joe Biden, with his extensive experience in foreign relations (including visiting and developing respect of numerous countries and their leaders) would have made the best choice for SOS, but I feel fortunate having Mr. Biden as Veep. Hillary Clinton will do well, I have confidence in her and Obama's choice. She is smart and has a brilliant administration of great depth behind her. Good luck to all in 2009...this is a challenging beginning.

"Dodging and ducking the sniper bullets in Bosnia".

Does everyone have amnesia or do you remember that incredibly stupid story she often told. Now this lamebrain is Secretary of State.

What country is going to take her seriously? Whatever credibilty remains will be lost before she steps down, which won't be long.

I have the greatest confidence in PE Barak Obama; VPE Joe Biden; SOSE Hillary Clinton, and the Obama-Biden Administration. My support is 100% behind them.

Finally Hillary gets to run from the airplane across the runway with bullets over head!

Run Hillary Run!

I have GREAT confidence in SOS Hillary and PE Obama to face this huge challenge head on. It won't be easy, but these are the two people I would most want leading our country at this crucial time.

For the Bush supporters who are hating on Hillary/Obama, shut up! Your BELOVED leader left this country in the biggest mess (foreign and domestic) in history....now you have the nerve to speak ill of the dems who must clean it up. Your voice is irrelevant.

Why a bumpy road?
Secretary Rice armed with the Bush "Road Map" is working out just fine.
Why are you folks GOP haters?
The plan is working, can't you see.

Don B. I'm sorry to burst your bubble but Democrats has more experience in World diplomacy . REMEMBER THE CUBAN MISSILE ?
JFK did not bluff the Russian that we have a star wars military capability, like the Raygun does. JFK was more pragmatic and factual. That's why the world respect America for that because democrats never insulted the intelligent of other world leaders Can anyone imagine if the Yeltsin calls in Raygun's Bluff the America as we know it will be gone by now. Raygun got lucky and we can't always hang the faith of American people in luck , alone. Would we?
Hillary would do fine. Wether you like it or not America got it right this time
they voted for the right leader.

As I read some of the post it amazes me how some of you people like Dan from Texas will justify Israel's one sided war. Now Bush (your friend from Texas) wanted a democratic Middle East and Hamas won. Bush was very short sighted in hos quest for a democratic Middle East. You would think as a conservative he would have allowed individual countries to choose their own destiny but he got his wish. Now Israel needs to stand down because all this does is cause yet another increase in terrorism or freedom fighting (just depends on who you ask.) Now Hamas by no means is innocent in all this but the United States needs to start threatening Israel with cutting them off with military aid if this continues. The Arab leaders need to start being more proactive. PE Obama and Clinton have to start making overtures to Iran and we have to get out of Iraq. All of this connected and it is the their (the terrorist/freedom fighters) calling card for recruitment. America has to be fair and just (something that has eluded the Bush Administration. The United States foreign policy has to look beyond race because honestly if you look at the Israeli's and the Palestinians there is a difference especially with the Israeli's of European descent.

To... Charlie in Maine....

Your post pretty well defined the current crop of liberals in the US. Always too worried about offending someone which keeps just about anything from getting done.

Forget Hillary, she answers to Obama. I hope these hardcore, slightly retarted Hillary supporters will get that! (I'm so glad Hillary lost btw)Let's see what he will do. Then again, probably nothing until January 20th.

clinton was not my pick for sos. I have confidence in Obama, & he will be making any decisions, also Jones, & others more than just clinton , she will be calling Obama's shots, not hers. She lied and fabricated her foreign policy experience during the campaign because she didn't have any, unless you count the fantasy story about Bosnia.

I am happy Dr. Mimi is now confident in Hill's abilities.
She was not so sure during the Dem primaries...

Hamas must stop firing rockets and must recognize Israel. Being religious lunatics as they are, supported and paid by Iran, it is unlikely they'd do that. Which makes inevitable that Israel will remove them by force.
Don't think I am a blind supporter of militarism: I was against invasion into Iraq, I do believe Bush, Rumsfeld and Cheney must be in prison.... but in this case I support Israel and I think blame for violence is far more on Hamas (and Hesbollah).

To Shiva-The native Jews were a small minority. The bulk of the Zionists came from Russia and Poland and other parts of Europe and planned to displace the native population. The Palestinians are themselves a combination of various natives (including Jews) and invaders who were 'arabized' by centuries of Muslim Arab imperial rule. They ARE the real natives along with the small Jewish minority that is NOT from Europe.

Yes, in 1948, the Arabs didn't agree to the great powers decision to give Palestinian territory to a bunch of European colonists. Big surprise. Here's what else that is surprising: the state of israel still had upwards of 49%-50% Palestinian (non-Jewish) people with zero representation AND Israel moved into Palestine designated areas to expand BEFORE the Arab armies declared war. Israel was not outnumbered (population does not equal army size or military strength, just ask China when Japan conquered them in WW2), but had at the end of the conflict a 50,000 strong veteran force that had fought in WW2. It has been fighting to expand its borders AND has ostensibly rejected 2 peace offers from the Arab League that would give them peace with the region if they withdraw to the 1967 borders. Americans, unfortunately, are amongst the least educated on world history and affairs and thus are alone in their high opinion of Israel.

Get over it Lynn of NM
FACT: There was a war in Bosnia when the former First Lady landed there.
Her aircraft was warned of the possibility of hostile fire, as there would be a concern in any war-torn nation.

IMPRESSION: From the video footage, she handled the threat rather confidently, as I recall.

She will make a FABULOUS Secretary of State!

Just one more comment as I read other people's posts: Please look beyond CNN and other American networks to get your news on this conflict as Palestine is certainly not free as some seem to suggest and Israel is not the "poor suffering nation" that is shown on the news.

Speak with people from these regions and they will give you the other side of the story. It's never as simple as "they are right and the others are wrong", this is Bush's way of thinking...

Clinton's bias is shared by most of our govt. who think (or want us to think) that Hamas started this. They fired rockets to annoy Israel since no one was getting killed (anyone notice that?!) and then started shooting them at populated areas AFTER Israel killed hundreds in this latest crisis. This was all in response to Israel's unwillingness to talk to Hamas after it was elected (not vice versa) democratically, although it has become totalitarian and they're religious kooks no doubt about it. But Israel's occupation and blockade are the root cause as even Olmert admitted a few months ago. Unfortunately, Israelis seem okay with this imperialist land grab since they know that our politicians are paralyzed by the pro-Israel lobby which dictates the terms or our Mideast policy and thus we are hated in the world as the hypocrites we are.

To Mark from Alabama,

My God, what a complete idiot you are!!! You are the perfect example for everything that is wrong with the US!

That's all I have to say!

I hope that for once my comment will be posted...

While I don't blame Bush for the crisis in Israel and Palestine, I do blame him for being unsuccessful in bringing peace in the region and making America and its allies LESS safe around the world.

But I do have faith that PE Obama and Mrs. Clinton may make some inroads in that region and in other parts of the world. I wish them all the best. The future of our country depends on it.

more "dodging" of sniper fire is what america is goin to see

Perhaps the rockets wouldn't be fired from Gaza if the people there weren't imprisoned by Israel.

The hardest part of Clinton's work is to pretend that the Obama administration can do things differently from what has been done in the past while at the same time maintaining the status quo, which is to continue to deny the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people to re-claim the land stolen from them by Israelis using the pretext of a fictitious document and a fictitious god who supposedly granted them the right to that land. In short, it's all more of the same colonialist attitude from America to support illegitimate Israeli actions. Israel and America are the invaders and occupiers, violators of human rights, but as we know, might makes right.

Hillary 4-EVER!!! If anyone can do it – it's MY GIRL.....Go get 'em Hillary!!!

As long as the pro-Israel lobby which represents the most rightwing elements is Israeli society dictates American foreign policy, there will be no peace in the Middle East. We will continue to share the blame for supporting Israeli war crimes.

There were plenty of Jews living in Palestine before 1948. They were known as Palestinians. After they fought off 5 Arab armies in 1948, these Palestinians changed the name of their country to Israel. Not that their enemies have ever given up. But the world is beginning to realize that making war on Israel is NOT the way to get the global economy up and running. Even the Palestinian Authority is fed up with Hamas.

Israel recognized Hamas as the elected representatives of the people of Gaza. Hamas has as its main goal to "kill as many Israelis as possible and take the land for the Palestinian peoples".

Recognizing Hamas leads Israel to simply say, it is us or them. They have no choice but to kill every member of Hamas and, unfortunately, any Palestinian who is in the way.

If Hamas says, we want peace, we accept Israel's right to exist. We deserve money, aid, and help, as reimbursement for our land that was stolen from us. We demand representation in the control of the Holy sites and Holy land. We demand payments from the Israeli government so we can buy land and housing within Israel. We demand a vote in Israeli elections to determine who is in the Israeli government. That is a step in negotiating peace.

Hamas asks Israelis to leave Palestine and simply go away. That will happen when the US government cedes the US territory to the Native American tribes in North America and US citizens leave North America.

Hillary is 110% pro-Israel, but she is not unsympathetic to the plight of the Palestinians and also is respectful of the Arab world.

Palestine deserves a Country to call it's own.
Cheney even said so earlier this year.

May they find it under the new Administration.

That ole broad has the courage, determination and stamina of an entire army brigade!

She is up to the challenge and GODSPEED, SOS nominee Clinton!

Do you think some of the dangerous world that Bush left behind might be the result of Islamic fanatics? Last time I noticed the bad guys were Al Quaeda, Taliban, Pakistan, Palestine and other Muslim terrorists. Point the finger where it belongs – towards the radical Muslim, Islamic facsist terrorists. Bush was put in the unfortunate position having to defend America – he did not go looking for these fights.

Might as well hang it up now.... Lou Dobbs show is on... no UNBIASED here..... There is nothing independent about this program.... why don't they just come out and admit... like the bozos here who try to fool someone into believing they are really disgruntled Democrats who are sorry they supported Obama... that they are unbiased... I mean PaLease... this is a right wing program...or a Repub wolf wearing Dem sheep's cloths! Good night, CNN!

Godspeed Madame Secretary. I hope I don't offend any ahteists by saying so but by getting Barack Obama as Pesident and Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State and the rest of the team Obama is putting together "God surely has shed his grace on us" as the song goes.... from sea to shining sea.

Happy New Year

18 days 14 hours 54 minutes and 3 seconds to go( but who's counting)

J : January 1st, 2009 7:00 pm ET

"Hillary Clinton can not put herself out as an honest broker of anything in the Middle East.

She will fail in the Middle East, and miserably so.

This appointment is one of the largest mistakes PE Obama has made so far."

J, there is absolutely NOTHING that Clinton could do that is even close to the havoc of the Bush Administration all over the world! Seriously....

Hillary isn't afraid of a bumpy ride, she's had her share and through it all she's still standing tall. I can't name one person who is better qualified other than Bill Clinton himself.

Interesting, the Republicans have always said America stands behind Israel. Yet, Bush has achieved NOTHING, ZERO, ZILCH, toward helping bring peace to the Middle East; 8 long and wasted years indeed!

I'll start by saying that I have a great deal of empathy for Bill Clinton. I'm not at all impressed by his wife ,"Hillary",whom I consider a hapless feminist, with a egomaniac temperament incapable of being anyone's subordinate! These are harsh words towards our SoS,but I'll explain. Mr. Clinton by far was a great president,#1) he didn't create wars, but negotiated peace#2) his administration under SoT Robert Rubin actually lowered our Nat'l Debt ,by having a surplus GNP,versus negative GDP/GNP of past and present administration.That said ,it was all Bill Clinton,period! Now to P-E Obama. Mr. Obama's,"Two-fer"(Bill&Hillary) could be his undoing,if my calculus is correct? Bill will be coaching Hillary behind the lines to get her thru all the heavy-lifting when it comes to the, "Real World"! He will shamelessly be watching her like a "Queen's" devoted eunuch. He will superciliously instruct her on the worlds stage;how to deal with it's charred nefarious characters,with all the ugliness dialed, "full throttled ahead" ! The "Iron Maiden" (a fitting name I've chosen for Mrs. Clinton) will strut about getting all the credit ,but as I said in the very beginning,Hillary in of herself,is a shrewd wife,with great ambition,which no man will harness,... PS. Happy New Years CNN

Hillary Clinton will do as she is told. To all of you 'hillary will be the brains behind the presidency to do all the heavy lifting'...take a look at her run for president. She's not smart enough or strategic enough to match Obama and his inner circle, she will have to pull of some stellar diplomacy to be taken seriously, you know, she brought peace to Ireland and survived sniper fire in Bosina, so she should do just great in Gaza.

Well, now the Dems will actually have to perform instead of just talk and point their fingers at those who do real work.

After 1500 years of fighting between these two factions, there is nothing that can be done by one person or one country to "solve" this issue. It is time to let these two come to some type of agreement on their own. Hamas is a democratic society and was voted in, Isarel is within it's rights to prevent the attacks. The resolution will not be peaceful or neat, it will be bloody and very ugly, but they are the two that have to deal with the issues.

To expect otherwise is very naive.

The U. S. policy of not seeing Israel's treatment of Palestinians as a form of occupation and apartheit, and one should say, "state-sponsored terrorism," led to 9/11 and the growth of Al-qaida. Israel is so confident of our support that they have done terrible things to their Arab neighbors. I hope the new Administration will be willing to stand up not only to cruel Israeli policies but to AIPAC who has also got a blind spot to Israel's violations of U. N. resolutions and of their failure to honor agreements made with the Palestinians. Continuing uncritical support of Israel is going to make the MIddle East and Arab relations worse so I pray that the Obama pragmatism and consultative style will bring reality to his response so that his Secretary of State can actually accomplish something in the Middle East.

Proud American.... I gotch your back on that one! I suspect there are a lot of other Americans who feel the exact same way!

Kenneth M. That's funny, I thought the problems in Israel were the result of moving the bulk of the Jewish population of post WWII Europe into a country that someone else was already living in...

Thank you for pointing out that the age old problems between Israeli's and Palestinians are actually the fault of the current President and did not exist before 8 years ago

SHE will do great. When will they learn that war is not the answer to anything, never has been and never will be. History is the proof, yet all countries seem to think it's the only way to accomplish a goal. War belongs to men, Men of greed and no conscience.

Clinton will be following Obama's stance on all these issues just as Rice has been following the stance of the Bush administration. I do believe that Hillary is a LOT more qualified than Condeleeza Rice was. Rice had to learn ON THE JOB. And she surely screwed things up that first your as she primped and simpered in the National Attention instead of doing her job. Clinton will go into this job with the knowledge of exactly what she faces as well as the people she will be dealing with! BIG DIFFERENCE!

So let's not be SO quick to write Hillary Clinton off. She is a tough knowledgeable lady...and she proved that in the campaign she almost won. I think the Obama/Biden... Clinton combo will do just fine.... thank you very much!

Hillary will bang some heads together and take charge.

And her experience for the positon as SOS is????????????? I voted for Obama because I did not want Clinton in the White House. So disappointed.

If anyone can handle it, Hillary can. It'll take an experienced woman to help undo the mess made by so many men in charge.

Hillary has proven herself as strong, smart and tough. After the last 8 years of disasterous policies the Bush Administation had foisted on us, we need a new direction. Hillary will certainly lead with a cool head and sound judgement.

Sylvia,
I am an American and I find your support for cowards who would target you and your children w/o any remorse for their agenda foolish and niave.

So? If anyone can handle it, its Hillary. She will be admired by everyone around the world. Barack knows darn well who he has picked for this job. You go girl!

Editors, please!
Let's try and spell words (such as "likely) correctly.
Is this too much to ask?

As usual, it will be a woman doing the heavy lifting and in this case it will be Hillary who is no stranger to conflict and going into the fire. Does Obama look like someone who can do any heavy lifting at all? No, I think he likes to shoot hoopes and focus on his body for recreational purposes. Hillary will be the power behind the Obama throne.

To Mark, B'ham., Al. – January 1st, 2009 6:25 pm ET
In very remotely possibility that either Canadians or Mexicans launches rockets against US soil, then what's the president needs to do is get back at the guys who did it, no matter where they hide. Not shoot randomly without regards for anyone that lives nearby them.
The Hamas needs to accept the existence of Israel as much as Israel needs to accept that the Hamas is still the democratic elected government of the Palestinians. It won't work in only one way!

Hillary just needs to tell the truth that in the history of civilization there has never been a legitimate country know as palestine. Period!

I think Hillary Clinton can handle the Sec. of State job better than Condi Rice. Hillary is pro-Israel and Rice was too much for the PLO. And I look for Obama to be pro-Israel also-HE BETTER BE! If not he will probably be in one term, IT'S HISTORY. I think Carter was against Israel-he lasted one term. Reagan's adminastration sold AWACS planes to Israel's enemies, -he was getting about anything he wanted but when he sold AWACS things went in reverse for him. George Bush Sr. told Israel, when their country was being hit by Iraqi SCUD Missles-"DON'T YOU STRIKE BACK"-AND HE WAS IN ONLY ONE TERM.
THERE WILL BE NO LASTING PEACE IN ISRAEL UNTIL JESUS COMES.

The truth is the truth John G. W stunk up the place and someone has to clean it up. What we see now is the result of W wondering around the mid east the way McCain was wondering around on the stage at the debate.

This will be a long and hard problem. Exacerbated by the fact that the United States gave up the even handed role and chose to take the easier route and just give the Israeli government Carte Blanche. Israel has made some half choices. Telling the world they want a two state solution while working to build new settlements in Jerusalem and the West Bank. They kept up the blockade and state of seige around Gaza the entire time of the cease fire. They have been saying that part of what is different between this and Lebanon last year is that they have spent the last six months planning this engagement. That means that they were planning the attack and invasion the entire time they had a cease fire.

There are violations and bad faith that can be pointed to on both sides. Israel needs to make a decision. Do you really work for a two state solution or do you push for complete removal of the Palestinians. Many will say,"wait Hamas has said they want the end of Israel and they want to push us in the sea, etc., etc. The West Bank does not have the Hamas situation. Abbas has pretty much been a Tony Blair poodle for Olmert. Checkpoint interference is still intense. Settlements are still being built.

Mr. Keyes, I think SOSTB Clinton will do just fine. Sec. of State Rice survived the challenge. I don't expect our new SOS to do any less. I think she will do an even better job.

well well, the Queen of the Known Universe now has a mess upcoming on her watch; problematically, she is doctrinaire pro-Israel, and, who knows, what problems her increasingly strange husband can and willl cause. I would like to see Obama start w/ a more rational attitude toward the Palestinians, CUT OFF some money and armaments that the American taxpayer CONTINUES to provide Israel---we have enough to pay for in our own backyard--– but he will have to stand up to her Queenship to do it. The good news is, maybe he can (or will) just kick her fanny off the job--she may muddle as much or more than Rice.

Thank goodness the adults are about to take over in Washington DC. After 8 long years of neanderthals ruining the planet it will be refreshing to watch grown ups at work.

"Clinton inherits from the Bush administration a dangerous and unpredictable world in which the violence in Gaza and southern Israel is just one reminder."

Way to be fair and unbiased on this one CNN. I get that some of the problems in the world can be directly attributed to the Bush administration but to imply that violence in Israel is the fault of one single administration is irresponsible news reporting. I genuinely wish there was a news organization that was capable of reporting the news without slanting it one way or another. Just give us the facts please and let us make up our own minds.

Hillary is always up for a challenge, she will do great!

Hillary will ONLY made matters Worse !!! The Only way to solve this is for Obama himself to go , Or have President Jimmy Carter and talk to Hamas. HILLARY IS A JOKE, AND I WOULD NOT BE SUPRISED IF SHOES ARE THROWN HER WAY BIG TIME! THE US IS IN PART RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS MESS TO BEGIN WITH, BY SUPPLYING ISRAEL WITH MONEY AND AMO, SO THERE.... IF IT WAS NOT FOR US AND BRITAIN THERE WOULD BE NO ISRAEL, PLAIN AND SIMPLE, THEY ARE NOTHING BUT BULLIES AND THINK THE WORLD OWES, THEM.. TWINK TWICE... THE MIDDLE EAST HAS A LOT OF SUPPORT FROM THIRD WORLD COUNTRIES AND HELP IS ON THE WAY!!

Hillary is a tough cookie. I know she can handle it.

There are three sides and not two – Israel, Palestinians and Islamists. Clinton, Israel and the Palestinians remember they were about 6 weeks away from a deal before the political clock ran out and Bush took office. The Isamists need to be eliminated and there's a deal already waiting. Hamas knows it too as do their paymasters the Iranians. But wait, there's more. If Israel throws Fatah under the bus and gives the entire enchilada to Hamas, Syria will sign on as well. Cynics may think otherwise but as bad as things look, they aren't really that bad. Stay tuned

Wow – only one person noticed the typo...

It is time that Israel recognizes the elected government of the Palestinians and it is time for Hamas to recognize Israel. It is time to talk about how to get along and bring peace. Nothing is solved by killing and in the end governments will have to sit at a table and give and take.
Launching rockets, and dropping bombs is not going to solve the problem. It is more than time to set the weapons down and to talk.

Mark, B'ham., Al. I blame Bush for every ill throughout the world, and your parents for giving birth to a Idiot.

I STRONGLY AGREE WITR MOST OF THE ABOVE COMMENTS..SO LONG AS THERE IS NO SNIPER BULLETS FLYING AROUND........

I am not a fan of Hillary Clinton as a public servant or politician, I was disappointed with her being selected as Secretary of State; there were more qualified choices. Lots of you readers are going to "boo-hoo" me. I actually support Israel for their self-defensive attitude. There comes a point where patience no longer plays a role. Israel can not afford to not defend herself against terrorists (Hamas). Of course, she (Israel) played into the hands of the enemies and the media and most of the world is unaware of the history or full story. I can understand that Israel is tired of playing the game and is seeking closure. I support the decisions of Israel and hope that they have enough support to finally extinguish their local terrorist group. I am a peace loving person, but this situation can not go on and if terrorists can not make their demands known through the pen, then it must be through the sword. Sorry and sad, the human being has not yet learned I support Israel 90%!

Good luck tp Madame Secretary Clinton!!!!! I am sure we all feel she will be able to do your job as the President wishes.

I am so hopeful that Madame Secretary Clinton will be similar to Madame Secretary Albright that President Clinton appointed. Wise choice.

I think we all need to turn a page and be hopeful with the mess this administration is being left to clean up.

Hillary Clinton will do the best job possible, certainly far superior to what we have had. How fortunate our country is she is willing to serve in this difficult leadership position. Her intelligence, strength and wisdom is awesome. If it can be done, she will certainly get it done.

George "WORST" didn't start this war but as with so many things that have gone so terribly wrong in the world and especially in this country,he has done absolutely nothing!He is completely guilty of the act of not really trying to do anything.An occaisional meeting with a couple of photo ops DOES NOT make it an effort to TRY!The only thing he ever did was dive headfirst into the quicksand of Iraq.

Bin Laden is still alive and well,there are still thousands of homeless victims of Katrina,illegal aliens still cross our borders easier than we can get through airports,the mortgage crisis deepens,healthcare is a joke,unemployment grows worse every day and now more fire and flames in errupt in the Middle East.Quite an impressive resume for our hapless,hopeless leader.

President-Elect Obama can't do anything until he's actually the President and he finds out what other dirty little secrets are hiding in the whitehouse closet for him and his cabinet.I'm sure that the news is even worse than even the most cynical think it is.

Yeah Mark B"ham ,your boy George Worst is such a great leader isn't he.He's only destroyed just about everything there is.It's a good thing there are term limits or God only knows if there'd even be a planet left,let alone a country if he got 4 more years.You'd better PRAY that Obama and Clinton can help resolve these issues,including a middle-East peace of some sort or there won't be much of anything left for anyone!

It is too late for the United States to have any effectiveness and credibility as a peace broker in the Middle East. I cannot see the new administration changing the deeply entrenched policy of supporting Israel unwaveringly in every crisis,despite U.N. condemnations in the past. Bush Senior tried to stop and/or reverse the ceaseless building of illegal settlements in the West Bank,only to have the Israeli government thumb its nose at the U.S. The long term goal of Israel is to stealthily create a Greater Israel,while successfully branding the brutalized Palestinian population collectively as "terrorists". This gains credence in the U.S. after the events of 9/11. I see little prospect of a review of American policy which will make the United States an impartial broker. It is American weapons which provide the overwhelming firepower in the unfair David and Goliath struggle. Why cannot the Americans and the Israelis grasp the fact that it is years of occupation,deprivation and humiliation which fuel Hamas's rocket attacks. Furthermore,the State Department must begin to practise realpolitik by talking to its enemies,rather than pretending that they do not exist.

I wish her luck. She's gonna need it. She'll have some support from Obama's total difference from Bush but that isn't going to help all that much when she has to tackle people whose heads she may need to knock together. She's qa stronger person than Rice, which is in her favor.

"Hamas needs to be destroyed like Al-Queda! They both are as fanatical.as the Daily-Kos and Move-On.org organizers."

This trenchant insight offers proof that conservatives have a genuine interest in advancing our political discourse both at home and abroad.

HILLARY CLINTON ENJOYS BUMPY RIDES.

SHE JUST MIGHT MAKE HISTORY BY BRINGING

MORE OF THE WORLD TOGETHER THAN ANY

OTHER SECRETARY OF STATE. I HAVE GREAT

CONFIDENCE IN HER INTELLECT & DETERMINATION.

SHE ALSO HAS A GREAT PRESIDENT TO HELP HER ACHIEVE IT.

These complicated foreign problems have been around of years. I personally think she is the best person and an able secretary of state to deal with these problems.

She made the decision to stay with her lying cheating husband, although she did that to further her career. So I have no doubt she will make intelligent choices, as long as that decision beneifts her career.

Thinking this one over an going back an watching Brzezinski's take down of "Joe". I feel for Hillary But im sure she can pull it off .Bubba (her old man),almost had it he had them shaking hands so 2 speak . Now here we are 8 yrs latter with the Bush-mans failure It is going kinda back to the starting point. Humm!!! all things go full circle i reckon. A Bush broke it now a Clinton will fix it.. Of this i am sure.

Mark, B'ham., Al. January 1st, 2009 6:44 pm ET
Hamas needs to be destroyed like Al-Queda! They both are as fanatical.as the Daily-Kos and Move-On.org organizers.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
'Country First Hero' Mark:
It's obvious that you didn't care about Israel until a 'Black Man' became the President -Elect. And you probably hate all Arabs, yet don't even know how to spell Al-Qaeda.
And what is that asinine reference to Mexico and Canada attacking American cities?
Mon Dieu, You’re a silly goose.

Perhaps in the interests of PROFESSIONAL JOURNALISM and PROFESSIONALISM overall, CNN staff could actually run SPELL CHECK and GRAMMAR CHECK.....so we don't see inexcusable errors like

LIKLEY (as it is in the header of this article)

versus

Likely (which is the way it is actually spelled...)

What does it take to run those functions in your Word Processing application...about 10 seconds??

i'm glad we have hillary for this time in our world.

It''s about little One's. Lady. Lou Dobbs.... You can talk all you wan't....
George Bush...... Barack Obama: """""""""""""""""""Lied"""""""""""""""""
All he promised Bl;ack America. Change you can believe in,,, Come on CNN,You condemed George Bush Jnr,,,, But you glorify... A Nothing,.......

OH, THIS IS SO IRONIC . . .

[1.] – Former Arkansas First Lady, former U.S. First Lady, and current New York Senator Hillary fought for 15-months and came within a hair of Democratic nominee for POTUS with 18-million votes,

[2.] – Sarah Palin was plucked from Alaska to be Republican VP-nominee, only to begin her 2-month "skunk-spitting lying" campaign claiming she would complete the job Hillary failed to do.

[3.] – Now Hillary is the next U.S. Secretary of State with a heavy task to carry. Hillary is also one the most inspirational women in the nation, leaving her Senatorial seat serving 20-million in New York, to claim her seat on the world stage. And on New Years Eve night, Hillary and her husband received the honors of bringing in the New Years at New York's Time Square with a million celebrants; while Grandma Sarah Palin gets a congratulation card from "Focus on the Family" for her new grandson "Tripp". (P.S. – - – Did "Focus on the Family" celebrate Jamie Lynn Spears’ unwed, teenage child birth?).

Bush has left a real mess. The world is a much more dangerous place than it was in 2000 thanks to his ridicules foreign policy.

One useless, ignorant appointee replacing another useless, ignorant appointee, with another appointee, (Kennedy) waiting in the wings to be appointed. Heaven help our country! What war will Hillery contribute to with off-the-wall recommendations as Rice did? Does anyone remember the gaffs of Hillery when her husband, Willie was president? There were numerous asinine remarks on foreign policy she directed to the conflict of the miuddle east. And when husband Willie, became president. Hillery plegded to straighten out the countrys medical policy problem and she did nothing of the sort. And what will Kennedy contribute to the US policies with her most recent demonsration of ignorance. In a recent interview, she used a two lettter expletive over 200 times in expressing her shortsightenedness in public speaking on knowledgeability on country policy.

The Obama admininstration will be able to handle any foreign crisis far better than the Bush one did. Bush hid from every issue and even removed himself from all information coming in on what a disaster Iraq had become. He was an incompetenet fool who thought he could bully the world and ignore nations who did not agree with us.

All nations of the world are welcoming the new Obama regime and the fact he understands what the word "diplomacy" means. He will not bully and threaten everyone. He will sit down and have strong and intelligent conversations with all nations. We will have real opportunities to build or rebuild alliances. We will all be safer and the world more likely to be a peaceful place for everyone.

Thank God the war hawks and criminals of Bush, Cheney, and Rumsfeld will soon be gone forever. The world will cheer their disgraceful leaving of Washington.

Obama has a huge list of Bush messes to clean up but I have every confidence he will work hard to solve as many as he can as fast as he can.

Jan 20th cannot get here fast enough.

I only hope that if Hillary does visit the Middle East, she brings some of her PUMA supporters and leaves them there.

GOD BLESS AMERICA AND OUR LEADERS TO BE.

to Mark, B'ham, Al. I am Canadian, and I found your post to be rather distasteful.

I give up Lady,,, Lou Dobb's.... George Bush Jnr... Don't blame him... Your "boader and it's area ". is you. Why do I keep saying?America will be invaded..... IN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Vaded.... You are saturated will Religion.... Black Religion.. Mumbo, Jumbo... You have the Reigns???? Or do you??? No Kings in this World.... Just Dictators

Mrs. Clinton does work well under pressure, and will of course hit the ground running.
The United States cannot, and should not, turn its back on Israel. Israel is the only true friend we have in the Middle East, and is our ally. If we don't back up our friends, we certainly will discover that we will no longer have any.
In the world we live in now, we have enough enemies, we don't need to add a nuclear power with an amazing air force to our list of enemies.

One useless, ignorant appointee replacing another useless, ignorant appointee, with another appointee, (Kennedy) waiting in the wings to be appointed. Heaven help our country!

PE Obama and Sen. Clinton are pro-Israel but, if I'm not mistaken, they also agree in the creation of a Palestinian state. This will not solve all of the answers, but a free Palestine is long over due.

Hillary's just the person for the job

What does "likley" mean?

Since nobody can spel or punc'tu'a-ate anymo're, I figured this was my error. CNN can't afford to test its employees. By the way, "its" and "it's" are so poorly handled all the time, no wonder immigrants suffer. We suck and we teach this crap to them. Good going.

Hillary will do just as good a job as George "the vietnam coward" ever did.

carol – brilliant. spot on.

She was the only candidate capable to handle the current crisis. I doubt she would have rented a posh home in Hawaii and golfed her days away as the economic crisis deepened. Obama's arrogance will be his ultimate undoing.

If any one has a chance to solve this, I'd say Clinton and Obama do. President Bush undid so much of what President Clinton had accomplished. The question is...can it be solved? The Palestinians and the Muslim world must be ready to accept a solution that includes the existence of Israel.

I think we need a much more even-handed approach toward the Mid-east. Our present policies have allowed Israel to do whatever they wanted. If we put some teeth into our arms shipments to Israel like threatening to cut off our armaments until they work out a peace settlement with the Palestinians, I have a feeling the Palestinians would have an acceptable homeland rather quickly. I think our pro-Israel stance has done much to prolong the conflict there. I am not pro-Palestinian, but we did take land away from them to create the state of Israel, and I don't think they've ever been justly compensated. Having all of those people living in camps year after year is a disgrace!
Also whether we like it or not, Hamas is the duly elected government of the Palestinians. Why is it that if any nation elects a government that we don't like, they are immediately labeled as being terrorist?
It's obvious our present policies aren't working, so yes, I think President Obama needs to try talking to Hamas. It can't make the situation any worse, and just might lead to some progress.

I love Hillary. She is the best person for the job. I voted for her in the primary and I would vote for her today. Obama made a great decision. I think America often forgets how great our country was when Bill was in office. I am sure Obama will be a great president and I look forward to voting for him again in 4 years. I also look forward to voting for Hillary in 2016

Hamas started this situation by sending their rockets to Isreal. They can end it by simply stop sending rockets to Israel. Protestors in London keep saying free Palenstein. They are free!!! They were given that territory and when the Isrealies had it it was productve now it is junked up. They can import supplies on the other side by sea. They do not have to have anything to do with Isreal. They do not like anyone in the world. They bomb in London, Spain. They hate everyone in the world. In fact they hate this world. Any time anything is good they want to destroy it. I do not know why they are so upset because they have been bombed. The mothers send their own children to blow things up. If they were truly peaceful wonderful people many people would give them money for all kinds of things. Schools, shopping centers except they do not want that they want to live in the dirt. They want the world reduced to dirt.

That photo looks like she is attacking someone. Scary!

Do you think if Bill lets the wife of Dinner Jacket blow him peace will descend on the world ? I am just saying. We have tried everything.

he has been so bad for this country, I can only image that you unlike the rest of us must have profited from his presidency, the rest of us are in foreclosure

Jail for Bush and his comtempories

Yes, Hamas must be destroyed, and now. I know it will reduce the cash flow into the pockets of the Democrat Party but, hey, we all have to make sacrifices in this new era of hopey and changey. Enshala.

Proof readers taking a vacation or on a bumpy ride?

Mrs. Bill Clinton doesn't know her rump from a hole in the ground. What the hell did she do as senator ? God help us all.

We all have our civic duty to do.

Sec. Clinton's duty will be to skillfully apply President Obama's foreign policy principles and pursue his foreign policy goals. It would be contrary to her duty to conduct herself so as to be a strong presidential candidate in 4 or 8 years.

It is the civic duty of all citizens to hope for the success of their newly elected leadership. Those Conservatives who want Obama to fail, thus enhancing their chances in the next election, are being disloyal to the nation. Those Democrats who have bet their fortunes on an Obama Presidency must be willing to acknowledge the inevitable failures as well as the brilliant successes that we all hope for.

Is it just me, or is the rest of the world insane? I read these stories out of the middle east and can't even believe these are human beings - either side.

Religious fanatics...world would be better without religion.

Too much support for israel. Usa must be an honest peace broker

Lady Clinton will do well

We can solve this confict quickly, provide Hamas and the Palestinians with billions of dollars in free aide, American made F-16 jets, Ammunition, bombs and the appropirate training and may the best person win, but that is too much like right, we need to keep the american supported bully in the area.

I don't doubt for a minute that Clinton will do a good job. I'd rather have her here than as president right now, to tell you the truth. If she decides to run after a stint as SoS than I think she may have a better chance of getting into the White House. Especially if Palin runs against her.. heh.

YES, CLINTON WILL HAVE SUCCESS.

The "Clinton-Obama-Biden" trio will have the best success at helping to bring peace between the Palestinians and Israel; very much like Carter's role in helping to bring to peace between Egypt and Israel.

Hillary Clinton can not put herself out as an honest broker of anything in the Middle East.

She will fail in the Middle East, and miserably so.

This appointment is one of the largest mistakes PE Obama has made so far.

Work at problems at home and the hell with the messes others cause themselves.Stop sticking your nose in others affairs.If they can't handle their problems so be it.

"...Likley..."???? Who edits these articles??? And why the funny picture??

Another Mess Chanet,Rice and little puppet Bush have left.

Thanks to Bush you can kiss any peace agreement in the Middle East goodbye. Condi Rice did not do a thing and you expect a miracle from President-elect Obama and SOS Clinton? From the conflict it looks as though Israel wants to eradicate the Palestinian people at any cost. Isn't that genocide?

Seriously, what do people expect Barack to do?? His words have zero backing til after the inaguration. Did people expect Clinton and Bush as well as other president elects to take major stances on issues facing the outgoing administration while the president was still in office? You can't win for losing. Let him enjoy this time off, although he has been working harder than any other president elect up to this date. When the man is President then hound him for answers. Until then try and make up for the free ride Bush has gotten for the last 2 terms by at least pressing him on his way out.

Obama will have very different policies and agenda that the current Administration has. The direction will be based on peace and understanding, instead of war and lies. Unity among Nations is what the world is looking forward to now that a caring and loving President will be taking office on 1-20-09.We are hated around the world because of bulling tactics, when we need to join hands for world peace.Hillary will do a outstanding job in a difficult time in world history. Repeat after me : YES WE CAN , YES WE CAN , YES WE CAN.

What the hell is likly

I can't imagine Clinton being Secretary of State. She is a divider.

sorry i think clinton was bad choose for ss could have picked somebody with more exsperience

She is one strong woman, and on a good team. She can handle it

She has been all over the world and encountered so many different situations, there can be very few better than her for this role, we will be delightfully relieved at how she both responds and takes an active role in proactive (leading) on the world's stage

she will be a welcome relief to the neglect and aggression we have experienced the last 8 years

Why are you concerned? Hillary has all the experience in the world. She was under fire when she landed in Bosnia, remember? A little war in the Middle East should be no problem for her!

She should feel honored, that SHE CAN make a difference–in a situation...that has been HEATED for many years!

It doesn't matter what she faces. This woman is a GOD-SEND. She can tackle anything and come out on top! She is a force to be reckoned with....why do you think Obama appointed her over Richardson or J. Kerry. She's the best of the best of the best. PERIOD.

Clinton '12 or '16

All the best to Hillary...but does anyone believe we should just stay out of the million year mess these people seem to wallow in? Where are the rational individuals that truly want peace?

I hope Hillary Clinton and PE Obama will consider a new strategy as regards to Israel when they both take office officially.....this old policy needs to be revamped, it's outdated and too biased toward Israel.
This can't continue, we cannot be seen to favor one side only....there are two sides at war with each other and both sides should be brought to the table for talks.
PE Obama said he would talk to our enemies as well as our friends and I hope he will be true to his word on that and talk to Hamas.....they have to be addressed.

Hamas needs to be destroyed like Al-Queda! They both are as fanatical.as the Daily-Kos and Move-On.org organizers.

I wouldnt want this mess good luck. I know the clinton haters will soon post, but hopefully the Palestinians remember Hillary's graciousness with Arafat's wife and hopefully Israel remember Hillary's tough stance on Iran and both sides will listen or else they will continue to just blow each other up.

It's not like she hasn't been there before. Mrs. Clinton is a very bright and capable woman.

Clinton is too deeply connected to one side and so this will continue as is with no fresh thoughts. Too bad Obama chose Clinton for this position. It should have been the head of Health.

Mrs. Clinton is one smart lady who thrives on huge challenges: and the Middle East is certainly one of the major challenges she will face.

Working with President Obama, we have two capable people who will do their best. I'm believe there are no easy answers ... and there may be no answer at all but Obama & Clinton have the chance to make a difference.

Hope no one is whining by February 1st that "nothing is has been accomplished..." Our domestic mess was 8 years in the making: the Middle East mess is centuries old!

l-i-k-e-l-y

The Bush Haters will blame W for the Middle East as usual, but this one has been going on since the Truman Era and will go on until Armagedon. I hope Obama will react like Isreali leaders and retaliate if Mexico or Canada lauched rockets at American cities along the border.

I have no doubt she will face any challenge and succeed in problem solving. She is one strong, intellegent woman.

I don't like you for what you did; Hillary... You chose to switch...
But I still care.... Middle East???? Do some Home/Work that {"Black America" forgot to do... No! I won't help you. Women had a chance in Politics....

Love how CNN choses respectful photos to use with these stories. Really shows how honorable and unbiased the group is. Bravo, I'm totally impressed.