Travel: Hillary Clinton focuses on US-Mexico Issues

Yesterday, Secretary Clinton arrived in Mexico for High Level Group Consultative meetings.

These meetings were on different pillar topics including: 1) efforts to disrupt organized criminal groups, 2)institutionalize reform to sustain rule of law and respect human rights, 3)create a 21st century border between Mexico and the United States, and 4) build strong and resilient communities.

In the afternoon, she attended a meeting with President Calderon and a number of her colleagues from the Cabinet. This meeting was a concrete indication of the critical importance both the United States and Mexico place on law enforcement, cooperation, strengthening Mexican institutions, and other efforts against organized crime and drug trafficking organizations.

View the MSNBC Nightly Report with Brian Williams on Secretary Clinton's trip:

View Mexican News Report on Secretary Clinton's Trip:

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View the Secretary's remarks with Mexican Foreign Secretary Patricia Espinosa after their meeting in Mexico City or read the full text here: Read entire post

Secretary Clinton to Travel to Moscow

State Department just announced Secretary Clinton's upcoming trip to Moscow. Here is the official details so far:

On March 18-19 Secretary Clinton, accompanied by Senator Mitchell, will participate in a meeting of the Quartet with United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, and European Union High Representative Catherine Ashton, as well as Quartet Representative Tony Blair, to discuss efforts to promote Middle East peace.

The Secretary will also meet with senior Russian officials to discuss progress on a successor agreement to START, cooperation on nonproliferation, counterterrorism, regional security issues, and the work of the Bilateral Presidential Commission.

According to other news sources, Secretary Clinton was quoted saying that she expected a new U.S.—Russia nuclear arms reduction treaty to be signed soon. “I’m optimistic that we’ll be able to complete this agreement soon,”Clinton said in an interview with Russian Newspaper, The New Times, published on Monday. “It’s a technically very complex treaty to accomplish. We share an interest in making real reductions in our strategic arsenals, and that is the most important point... By taking concrete steps such as the new START treaty, we can reduce our own stockpiles and encourage others to do the same,” Clinton said.

More details to come as they roll in! Read entire post

Travel: Day One, Secretary Clinton in Qatar

On Sunday, February 14th, Hillary Clinton was wheels down in Doha, Qatar to begin a three-day visit to the area for talks aimed at gathering Arab support for countering Iran's disputed nuclear program and to bring to light the Arab-Israeli peace process.

On her schedule for the first day she was in a series of high-level meetings before addressing an annual US-Islamic World Forum. These meetings included a bilateral with with Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan as well as meetings with the staff and families from the Embassy in Doha.

Her speech focused on winning backing for the resumption of Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations, which basically have been frozen for more than a year. The Obama administration has made little headway in efforts to restart the talks, with the Palestinians refusing to sit down until Israel halts all settlement activity in the West Bank and east Jerusalem.

In her remarks she 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... Building a stronger relationship cannot happen overnight. It takes patience, persistence and hard work from all of us... We are and will remain committed to the president's vision for a new beginning.

Read the full remarks of her speech at the US-Islamic World Forum here or watch below:

Watch the Q&A session below or read the full text here: Read entire post

Travel Update! Off to the Pacific

According to the State Department, Secretary Clinton will travel to the Pacific January 11-19, 2010.

Her first stop is Honolulu, Hawaii on January 12, where she will deliver a policy speech in focused on Asia-Pacific multilateral engagement, and will be consulting with Pacific Command.

From Hawaii, Secretary Clinton will travel to Papua New Guinea on January 14. There she will hold bilateral meetings as well as meet with local civil society leaders to discuss environmental protection and women’s empowerment.

She then will travel to Auckland on January 15, where she will meet with senior New Zealand officials, including Prime Minister John Key. Also in Aukland she will engage in discussions with New Zealand citizens and meet with U.S. and New Zealand veterans at the Auckland War Memorial Museum.

Last stop will be Australia! On January 17 she will visit Canberra, Australia and Melbourne, Australia.

While in Canberra, she will be joined by U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith, and Australian Defense Minister John Falkner, and they will participate in the 25th Australia-United States Ministerial Consultations (AUSMIN) to discuss key global and regional security challenges.

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Travel: Hillary Clinton attends Karzai's Inauguration in Afghanistan

On Thursday, November 19th, Secretary Clinton attended the Inauguration of President Karzai in Kabul.

According to the New York Times, many Afghans did not even bother to watch the inauguration on television, and those that did, had much criticism.

During Secretary Clinton's time in Afghanistan, she was also critical calling for President Hamid Karzai and his government to do a better job of cracking down on corruption in Afghanistan. Although on Wednesday evening the secretary of state congratulated him on his reelection during their meeting, also telling him “I’m very energized by being back here and seeing you and a lot of your ministers," apparently over dinner, and in a subsequent one-on-one session, Clinton pressed Karzai for tangible results in tackling other forms of corruption.

Of Secretary Clinton's concerns on corruption is the issue that Karzai named one of his two vice presidents, Marshal Muhammad Fahim, whom American officials believe has been involved in the drug trade, as well as forging a political alliance with General Abdul Rashid Dostum, a warlord suspected of corruption. On the matter she said, “It certainly raises questions.”

But she was also optomistic in her speeches saying that the inauguration provided a “window of opportunity” for Mr. Karzai to make a new compact with the people of Afghanistan and to create a more accountable government.

“We want to be a strong partner with the government and people of Afghanistan... This is a turning point that we will face together... It’s not all a one-sided negative story... It’s much more balanced than that. If President Karzai was sitting here, he would say ‘do you know how hard it’s been to do what I have done for the last eight years?’”

Aside from her meeting with Karzai and her time at the inauguration, the Secretary also held a press conference at the U.S. embassy in Kabul. Followed by posing for photos with the troops and signing autographs. SEE LOTS MORE PHOTOS AFTER THE JUMP!! Read entire post