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."
FULL POST
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."
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.
FULL POST
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.
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.
MOSCOW (CNN) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has invited U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to his private residence in suburban Barvikha for a discussion Tuesday of a broad range of issues in what one senior State Department official called a "relaxed setting."
Issues on the agenda for the two-hour meeting include the next steps on Iran, the Mideast conflict, cooperation on Afghanistan, possible joint work on a missile defense system, Russia's "neighborhood" and climate change.
Clinton also will meet with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, following up on many of the same issues, as well as getting progress reports on the new bilateral presidential commission they jointly chair. The commission, created by presidents Medvedev and Barack Obama during Obama's July visit to Moscow, has 16 working groups dealing with a number of aspects of the relationship, from arms control to health care.
A key issue during Clinton's two-day visit to Russia will be arms control and reaching an accord to replace the 1991 Start II arms control agreement, which expires in December.
Also at the top of the agenda are Iran and international efforts to induce Tehran to end its nuclear program. A senior administration official, briefing reporters on background because of the diplomatic sensitivity of the
talks, said Clinton will speak with Medvedev and Lavrov "about what specific forms of pressure Russia would be prepared to join the U.S. and other nations in."
FULL POST
WASHINGTON (CNN) - Secretary of State Hillary Clinton embarks Friday on a six-day trip to Europe and Russia that comes at a crucial time in the Obama administration's decision-making on a strategy for Afghanistan.
She will depart one day after the inaugural flight of the "lethal transit" agreement, signed in July by President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, which allows transport of military personnel and equipment across Russia to support the U.S.-NATO mission in Afghanistan.
On the trip, the secretary will confer with key allies about Obama's emerging strategy on Afghanistan and Pakistan, said Phil Gordon, assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian Affairs.
Meetings are planned with the French foreign minister, the British foreign secretary and prime minister, the Russian foreign minister and Medvedev. She also will discuss the next steps on Iran and North Korea and international efforts to have the two countries end their nuclear programs.
WASHINGTON (CNN) - Top U.S. and Chinese officials are launching an expanded discussion of the crucial relationship between their two countries Monday, holding the first meeting of a "Strategic and Economic Dialogue" in Washington.
President Barack Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Secretary of Treasury Timothy Geithner, Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan and Chinese State Councilor Dai Bingguo will address the opening session of the two-day meeting.
In an op-ed article in the Wall Street Journal, Secretary Clinton and Secretary Geithner said the purpose of the dialogue is to "develop a new framework for U.S.-China relations."
WASHINGTON (CNN) — Behind the scenes they're tearing out their hair.
Nominees for top positions in the Obama administration say they are put on seemingly endless hold for months during the "vetting" process, forced to provide minute details of their financial, personal and professional lives going back years. Many have to hire lawyers and accountants – paid for with their own money – to compile the information. Some nominees have simply given up in frustration.
Now, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says it's affecting U.S. diplomatic relations.
"It's hard to explain in my position to our foreign counterparts that we don't have positions filled that would be the natural interlocutors or their counterparts in other countries," she said Thursday.
It's the third time this week the secretary has lambasted the process. Monday, she called it "frustrating beyond words," telling staff at the U.S. Agency for International Development who still don't have a new administrator, the process is a "nightmare."
WASHINGTON (CNN) - Behind the scenes they're tearing out their hair.
Nominees for top positions in the Obama administration say they are put on seemingly endless hold for months during the "vetting" process, forced to provide minute details of their financial, personal and professional lives going back years. Many have to hire lawyers and accountants – paid for with their own money – to compile the information. Some nominees have simply given up in frustration.
Now, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says it's affecting U.S. diplomatic relations.
"It's hard to explain in my position to our foreign counterparts that we don't have positions filled that would be the natural interlocutors or their counterparts in other countries," she said Thursday.
It's the third time this week the secretary has lambasted the process. Monday, she called it "frustrating beyond words," telling staff at the U.S. Agency for International Development who still don't have a new administrator, the process is a "nightmare."
From CNN Politics
© 2012 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
| Advertising practices | Advertise with us | About us | Work for us | Help
Recent Comments