What will hillary clinton diplomatic legacy be

Over the course of the next four years she would make frequent visits to those countries as well as taking in many others.

While there she met with the famous democracy activist and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and sought to support the Burmese democratic reforms, initiating a process of drawing Burma into the American sphere of influence thus paving the way for the visit of President Obama in November As part of the burgeoning US pivot to the Asia-Pacific, which included establishing a new marine-corps base in Australia and a rotating military presence in the Philippines, during a trip to Vietnam during July Clinton injected the U.

This would develop into a theme of Mrs. Clinton's Asian diplomacy. Hillary became the first Secretary of State to ever visit the Cook islands in August ostensibly to attend a regional dialogue hosted by the Pacific Islands Forum.

The Chinese, who have assiduously courted Pacific Island nations in recent years, were also in attendance and did not respond well to the presence of the Americans with the official Chinese state news agency blasting its discontent, saying Clinton's trip was ''aimed at curbing China's growing influence'' and ''stirring up disputes.

Let's just put aside all the moral, humanitarian, do-good side of what we believe in, and let's just talk, you know, realpolitik. We are in a competition with China. Clinton worked hard to revitalize the Trans-Atlantic alliance with the member states of the European Union, especially after the divisions and arguments over the Iraq war of , and at first pursued a policy of 'reset' in relations with the Russian Federation before adopting a more confrontational approach.

When it came to intervention in Libya the politico-military burden was distributed more equitably than during the Kosovo war. Early on, the United States knocked out Libya's integrated air defences and later provided other crucial assets, while encouraging greater European strategic and military front-line leadership.

The European and Canadian allies policed the skies, carried out the bulk of air strikes, provided logistical support, and enforced the arms embargo at sea. Against this improvement in the Euro-Atlantic alliance, U. With much fanfare a 'Reset' in relations between the USA and Russian Federation was announced in January to signify a new chapter after the difficulties and friction of the final Bush years. The achievements of the 'Reset'- the New START Treaty, cooperation on Afghanistan, Russia's entry into the World Trade Organization - have been considerable but eclipsed by stubborn and serious differences over Syria and the continuing Iranian nuclear programme amid rising, antagonistic rhetoric in both capitals.

Clinton was at the forefront of managing the Obama administration's response to the Arab Spring which erupted in early and navigating the tremendous geo-strategic upheaval with the fall of authoritarian regimes in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and the outbreak of mass protests and uprisings throughout the Middle East, most notably in Syria.

As the Arab Spring gathered momentum the President came to rely even more upon Hillary's long standing contacts in the region from her days as First Lady , in particular when confronted with the geo-political challenge of the fall of the Mubarak regime in Cairo which had been a long standing pillar of American interests and co-operation in the Middle East. Secretary Clinton was widely credited as the force within the administration for pushing for intervention in Libya to assist the rebels against the autocratic rule of Colonel Gaddafi.

As Hillary Clinton passes the baton of American foreign policy to her successor John Kerry, her legacy at the State Department is at one and the same time extremely distinguished, dynamic and yet strangely unfulfilled.

Through her global celebrity and historic reputation Mrs. Perhaps her best-known speech was delivered as first lady in Beijing in , when she declared, "Human rights are women's rights, and women's rights are human rights, once and for all. Geographically, Clinton's top achievements have come in Asia. She broke with tradition by traveling there instead of Europe on her first trip in February to Japan, Indonesia, South Korea and China.

She has been at the forefront of Obama's effort to re-establish the United States as a Pacific power and block China from dominating the important military and economic travel lanes in the South China Sea. Clinton's historic visit to Burma last December marked the first by a secretary of State since John Foster Dulles in Clinton played a leading role in Libya, lining up Arab partners for the military effort to oust Moammar Gadhafi and serving as an invaluable intermediary to prevent the coalition from fraying.

Speaking in Qatar days after the Arab Spring sprang roots in Tunisia in January , Clinton issued a prophetic warning to the region's autocratic leaders. Even so, she stuck with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak until the end, calling his government "stable" weeks before it collapsed. Clinton has worked with allies to isolate Iran, economically through tough sanctions and diplomatically at the United Nations.

With Obama in , she helped to rescue a Copenhagen summit on climate change from failure, eventually leading to an agreement by developing countries to help reduce carbon emissions. She was instrumental in getting Afghan President Hamid Karzai to accept a runoff election in that gave him more credibility, but the relationship remains rocky. On the road, Clinton combines a diplomat's cool with a mother's warmth.

The exhaustion that comes with having traveled , miles over the equivalent of 70 full days and nights shows only with occasional absent-mindedness. Signing the guest book at Kolkata's Victoria Memorial, she turns to a reporter for help. Little wonder. Clinton missed an entire Tuesday, flying from Washington to Beijing. The transcontinental flights were interrupted only by naps in her private suite and tarmac strolls during refueling stops in Alaska, Japan and Germany. Embassy for six days had drawn howls of protest from Chinese authorities, while participating in the 4th annual Strategic and Economic Dialogue between the world's two most influential nations.

The dueling agendas were on display during meetings with China's top leaders. While Clinton and her counterparts wrestled with trade and security issues and the world's hot spots, Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell pounded busily on his Blackberry. She left with Chen's path to the USA agreed upon but not completed, and pleased that the conference had gone off without a hitch — a sign, she said, of the maturing relationship between the world's largest developed and developing nations.

Chen, which was made, I believe, more possible of a positive outcome because we had this other set of activities going simultaneously that both of us, the Chinese and the U. Her female counterpart, Foreign Minister Dipu Moni, put it this way: "Hillary Clinton has been something of a household name in Bangladesh. That was obvious from the throngs of people standing four to five rows deep along Dhaka's dusty riverbanks and railroad beds.

A sign along the motorcade route read, "Heartiest congratulation to our beloved U. This is personal for me," she said. She had been there in for Mother Teresa's funeral. This time, her schedule included a private meeting with the new chief minister for West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee, who replaced decades of communist rule.

Clinton ably led administration efforts to round up international support for economic sanctions aimed at forcing Iran to accept curbs on the nuclear program.

Through most of the four years, she seemed immune to criticism. The most notable exception came near the end, with the death of four Americans at the U. He was raised in Minneapolis and Washington, D. He left The Times in All Sections. About Us. B2B Publishing. Business Visionaries. Hot Property.