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Secretary of State Hillary Clinton landed in Kabul Wednesday in a surprise visit.

Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN) - Secretary of State Hillary Clinton landed in Kabul Wednesday in a surprise visit on the eve of the inauguration of President Hamid Karzai.

Clinton went straight into a meeting with U.S. Ambassador Karl Eikenberry and Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, before having dinner with Karzai.

Her first visit to Afghanistan as secretary of state comes as President Obama is deciding whether to send up to 40,000 more troops to Afghanistan, as requested by McChrystal.

Clinton will attend Karzai's Thursday inauguration to a second term, showing U.S. support for his government, after an election which was tainted by fraudulent balloting.

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Clinton would 'look forward' to meeting with Palin.

(CNN) - While their fictional personas have teamed up on Saturday Night Live, Sarah Palin and Hilary Clinton have actually never met.

But the secretary of state said Sunday on NBC's Meet the Press she'd "look forward" to talking politics with Palin over coffee sometime soon.

Clinton was responding to an excerpt in Palin's forthcoming memoir in which the Alaska governor praises the then senator Clinton's 2008 presidential primary campaign effort.

"Should Secretary Clinton and I ever sit down over a cup of coffee, I know that we will fundamentally disagree on many issues," Palin writes in the new book called "Going Rogue: An American Life. "But my hat is off to her hard work on the 2008 campaign trail. A lot of her supporters think she proved what Margaret Thatcher proclaimed. 'If you want something said, ask a man. If you want something done, ask a woman.'"

TOPICS: Sarah Palin, Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee, Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden

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(CNN) - Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Sunday the primary U.S. mission in Afghanistan is defeating al Qaeda, rather than making a long-term commitment to rebuild the country.

"We're not interested in staying in Afghanistan; we're not interested in any long-term presence there," Clinton told the NBC program "Meet the Press."

"We want to get al Qaeda, we want to disrupt, dismantle and defeat those who attacked us, and we want to be able to give the Afghans the tools that they need to be able to defend themselves," Clinton said.

On the ABC show "This Week," Clinton said she has "made it clear" the United States won't provide civilian aid to Afghan government agencies without an effective certification process that shows the money will be spent on its intended purposes.

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Updated: 1:50 p.m.

(CNN) - Secretary of State Hillary Clinton used no diplomatic doublespeak Sunday when asked about a rumor she was considering a run for governor of New York next year.

"No, no," she said on the ABC program "This Week," adding: "I hope maybe we can put it to rest today."

Clinton said she was committed to her job in President Barack Obama's Cabinet, adding it was "an extraordinarily important time to be secretary of state for our country."

"That rumor is dead," Clinton said. "If you could please put it in a little box and send it off somewhere, I'd appreciate it."

Clinton tries to put praise of Israel in context.

MARRAKESH, Morocco (CNN) – Two days after Secretary of State Hillary Clinton angered Palestinian leaders by praising Israel for what she called "unprecedented" steps to limit - but not fully halt - the construction of Jewish settlements, she clarified her remarks.

Reading Monday from a prepared statement, Clinton said, "They (the Israelis) will build no new settlements, expropriate no new land, allow no new construction or approvals. And let me just say, this offer falls far short of our position or what our preference would be. But if it is acted upon it will be unprecedented restrictions on settlements and would have a significant effect upon restraining their growth."

For months, the Obama administration has insisted that Israel freeze all new settlement construction. In May, Clinton said President Barack Obama "wants to see a stop to settlements. Not some settlements, not outposts, not natural growth exceptions."

But on Saturday, standing beside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem, Clinton praised him for simply slowing settlement
construction.
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Clinton says it's time to move past the 2008 election.

(CNN) - One day after a new book revealed former President Bill Clinton's 2008 campaign trail outbursts may have prevented his wife from landing a spot on the Democratic ticket, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says it's time to move past last year's election.

"I'm very happy with the position that I have and I think Joe Biden's doing a great job as vice president, so I think we should move on from the campaign of 2008," Clinton told CNN's Jill Dougherty in Pakistan earlier Friday.

In excerpts released Thursday of David Plouffe's forthcoming book, the former Obama campaign manager writes he was surprised at how interested Obama was in picking Clinton for his running mate after the hard-fought Democratic primary race came to an end.

Ultimately, Plouffe writes, Obama ruled against Clinton in fear her husband may have proved to be "too big a complication."

"If I picked her, my concern is that there would be more than two of us in the relationship," Plouffe quotes Obama as saying.

The new book, titled The Audacity to Win, hits book stores November 3.

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) - Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Thursday questioned why Pakistani officials have not been able to capture or kill members of al Qaeda taking refuge in the country.

"Al Qaeda has had safe haven in Pakistan since 2002," she told a group of Pakistani journalists during her trip to the country.

"I find it hard to believe that nobody in your government knows where they are and couldn't get them if they really wanted to ... Maybe that's the case," she added. "Maybe they're not gettable. I don't know."

Al Qaeda, she said, has launched attacks on Indonesia, the Philippines and many other countries, "so the world has an interest in seeing the capture and killing of the people who are the masterminds of this terrorist syndicate."

"As far as we know, they are in Pakistan."
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Obama was seriously considering picking Clinton as his running mate, a new book reveals.

(CNN) - Some Democrats had dubbed the possibility of a Barack Obama-Hillary Clinton pairing last year as a "dream ticket," though the notion that the two once-bitter primary rivals would team up always seemed far-fetched.

But then-Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama was more seriously considering picking Clinton as his running mate than any of his senior aides realized, according to a forthcoming book by former Obama campaign manager David Plouffe.

Yet in the end, it may have been her husband Bill Clinton - who had made headlines for his outbursts on the campaign trail during the primary season - that ultimately scuttled the possibility.

In the new book, excerpts of which are running in the new issue of Time Magazine, Plouffe said Obama took both him and senior aide David Axelrod by surprise when he insisted on including Clinton on the initial list of potential picks for the No. 2 spot on the ticket.

"Obama was clearly thinking more seriously about picking Hillary Clinton than Axelrod and I had realized," Plouffe writes. "He said if his central criterion measured who could be the best VP, she had to be included in that list."

While Obama continued to consider picking Clinton throughout the summer of 2008, he ultimately eliminated her name from the list in early August, fearing, Plouffe writes, that there "were just too many complications outweighing the potential strengths."

"I think Bill may be too big a complication," Plouffe quotes Obama as saying. "If I picked her, my concern is that there would be more than two of us in the relationship."

The new book, titled The Audacity to Win, hits book stores November 3.

Secretary of State Clinton, pictured here with the Pakistani flag, is overseas meeting with Pakistani officials.

Islamabad, Pakistan (CNN) - Just a few hours after Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived in Islamabad, a massive car bomb exploded in a crowded market frequented by women in the northwest city of Peshawar, a two-hour drive away.

The city lies near Pakistan's tribal areas where al Qaeda and other extremist groups are believed to be hiding.

Condemning what she called "vicious attacks," Clinton called those who carry them out "cowards."

"They are not courageous, they are cowardly," she told reporters, speaking slowly and deliberately. "If the people behind these attacks were so sure of their beliefs, let them join the political process. Let them come forth to the people of Pakistan in this democracy and make their case that they don't want girls to go to school. That they want women to be kept back."

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Secretary Clinton will visit Pakistan 'soon,' official says.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - Senior U.S. diplomat Richard Holbrooke announced Friday that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will visit Pakistan "soon," but said details of the trip would be withheld for security reasons.

"So I am not going to talk about timing, details or who she [Clinton] is going to see.," Holbrooke said at a special briefing at the State Department. "Except to say she will see the leadership of the country, the leading members of the opposition, civic society, businessmen and as many people as she can in a limited period of time, with the limits of a very, very dramatic situation going on."

Clinton's visit comes as Pakistan is fighting a major military offensive against the Taliban - and reeling from a wave of terror attacks that have caused hundreds of deaths. The country also faces new tensions with the U.S.

Holbrooke, as other U.S. officials have done in recent weeks, again said that billions of dollars in U.S. aid to Pakistan places no conditions on the government or the military there. Pakistan politicians have accused the U.S. of meddling and micro managing.

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Secretary of State Clinton spoke Wednesday at the U.S. Institute of Peace, a non-partisan think tank.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stressed Wednesday that the White House remains open to diplomatic engagement with the Iranian government if Tehran is serious about negotiations regarding its controversial nuclear program.

"If Iran is serious about taking practical steps to address the international community's deep concerns about (the) program, we will continue to engage both multilaterally and bilaterally to discuss the full range of issues that have divided Iran and the United States for too long," she said.

"The door is open to a better future for Iran. But the process of engagement cannot be open-ended. We are not prepared to talk just for the sake of talking."

Clinton made her remarks during a wide-ranging speech on nuclear non-proliferation at the U.S. Institute of Peace, a non-partisan think tank.
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Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will deliver a major address on arms control and international security at the U.S. Institute of Peace Wednesday.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will deliver a major address on arms control and international security at the U.S. Institute of Peace Wednesday.

While promoting President Barack Obama's goal of reducing the role of nuclear weapons in the United States' defense posture, Clinton will argue that the U.S. will retain a safe, secure and effective strategic force.

According to talking points provided to CNN by a senior administration official, Clinton will say that U.S. allies and partners "should know that we have their backs; any adversary should know we will defend ourselves."

Clinton will focus on efforts by President Obama to restore the strength of the nuclear nonproliferation regime, eliminate the potential sources of nuclear terrorism, and move toward the vision of a world without nuclear weapons.

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Hillary Clinton lauds the president's patience and persistence while deciding about troop strength.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – With a runoff presidential election in Afghanistan appearing likely, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told CNN Friday that she expects the current president, Hamid Karzai, will win.

"It is likely that they will find that President Karzai got very close to the 50-plus-1" in August's balloting, she said in an exclusive CNN interview, referring to the 50 percent plus one vote needed to avoid a runoff. "... I think one can conclude that the likelihood of him winning a second round is probably pretty high."

Clinton said the timing of President Barack Obama's decision on whether to commit more troops to the fight in Afghanistan will not hinge on the election results. "I think the president is expecting to make a decision on his own timetable," she said, "when he is absolutely comfortable with what he believes is in the best interest of the United States."

Karzai faces allegations of corruption and vote fraud in the election, but the secretary of state sidestepped a question of whether he is a "reliable" partner for the United States and the international community. Administration officials have said that without a reliable partner, a counterinsurgency effort in Afghanistan would not succeed.

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WASHINGTON (CNN) – Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Friday that she is "very optimistic" a decent health care reform package will be enacted. She refused, however, to offer any opinion regarding the specifics of what should go into such a package.

"I have a different role now" than she did when she took the lead in attempting to craft a health care plan during her husband's administration, she told CNN's Jill Dougherty "I'm going to cheer from the sidelines."

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Friday that former President George W. Bush's administration was "unrealistic" in its dealings with the war in Afghanistan.

Clinton told CNN the Bush administration was unrealistic both in terms of the number of U.S. soldiers it committed to the conflict and in its
relationship with certain Afghan political leaders.

The war was "under resourced" since its start in 2001, she said, and she indicated the Bush administration's attention was improperly shifted to Iraq.

Castle will make a run for Senate.

WASHINGTON (CNN) –  Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's campaign debt from her failed 2008 presidential bid has fallen below the $1 million-mark for the first time since she launched her candidacy almost three years ago, according to documents filed Thursday with the Federal Election Commission.

Clinton's campaign reported having $2 million in the bank as of September 30, more than enough to pay off the $995,500 it carried in unpaid bills.

The sole remaining creditor is the political consulting firm Penn, Schoen & Berland, which at the start of the year had been owed $5.4 million. The campaign paid the firm over $500,000 on September 30, the last day of the 3rd quarter reporting period.

Clinton's debt reached its peak in June 2008 shortly after the former New York senator suspended her campaign. At that point, her presidential committee owed $12 million to almost 500 creditors and $13.2 million to the candidate herself, who dipped into her personal funds to help finance her campaign. Campaign finance laws forced Clinton to forgive the amount she loaned her committee because she was not able to repay the funds by the required deadline.

The campaign raised only $9,300 in contributions from July through September but generated an additional $172,000 from both bank interest and from the rental of its campaign mailing lists to other organizations.

A federal law known as the "Hatch Act" prohibits Secretary Clinton and other federal government employees from personally soliciting or accepting political contributions. The law does allow others to raise funds on Clinton's behalf, without her direct involvement.

Poll: Hillary Clinton more popular than Barack Obama.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – She lost to him in last year's battle for the Democratic presidential nomination, but a new national poll suggests that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is now more popular than her boss, President Barack Obama.

A Gallup survey released Thursday indicates that 62 percent of Americans hold a favorable view of Clinton, 6 points higher than the 56 percent who view Obama favorably.

According to the poll, the president's favorable rating has dropped 22 points from its inaugural-month level in January. The survey indicates that Clinton's favorable rating has only edged down 3 points since the beginning of the year.

Nine in 10 Democrats questioned in the poll view both Obama and Clinton favorably, with independents split. Fewer than one in five Republicans hold a favorable opinion of the president, while 35 percent see Clinton in a positive light. According to the survey, Obama has dropped 23 points with independents and 41 points with Republicans since January, while Clinton has dropped just 6 points among independents and stayed even among Republicans since the start of 2009.

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Russian President Dmitry Medvedev shakes hands with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton outside Moscow.

MOSCOW, Russia (CNN) - An impassioned U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, speaking to students at Moscow State University on Wednesday, admonished those in the U.S. and Russian governments who haven't moved beyond a Cold War mentality.

Clinton said such people are "living in the past" and aren't able to cooperate on issues such as missile defense because they "don't trust each other." She also called on the nations to find common ground, saying they "shouldn't end all cooperation" just because they can't agree on everything.

"Let's be smarter than our past," Clinton said, offering to bring a "new attitude bring to the relationship."

The town-hall meeting followed sessions Tuesday with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Russia Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov that yielded no breakthroughs on arms control, Afghanistan or possible sanctions against Iran as it pursues a controversial nuclear program.

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