Clinton plans more diplomacy

WASHINGTON -- Hillary Rodham Clinton said yesterday that she intends to revitalize the mission of diplomacy in American foreign policy, calling for a "smart power" strategy in the Middle East and implicitly criticizing the Bush administration for having downgraded the role of arms control.

At a daylong confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, President-elect Barack Obama's choice for secretary of state sailed smoothly through an array of noncontentious questions until two Republican committee members pressed her to take additional steps to ensure that former President Bill Clinton's global fundraising work does not pose even an appearance of conflict with her role as the chief U.S. diplomat. She said disclosure rules in place were adequate.

Clinton appeared headed for easy confirmation. She encountered no challenges to her basic vision for foreign policy.

She spoke confidently of Obama's intentions to renew American leadership in the world and to strengthen U.S. diplomacy.

"America cannot solve the most pressing problems on our own, and the world cannot solve them without America," she said, her daughter, Chelsea, seated in the audience.

"The best way to advance America's interest in reducing global threats and seizing global opportunities is to design and implement global solutions," Sen. Clinton told the panel.

Clinton said she intended to bring more arms-control experts back into the State Department, where arms-control functions had been "significantly degraded" under Bush.

In laying out a general outlook for foreign policy, Clinton made it plain, citing themes that were familiar from Obama's presidential campaign, that the role of diplomacy is to be increased. She and Obama contend that the Bush administration relied too heavily on the military to carry out foreign policy.

Discussing the problem of peacemaking in the Middle East, Clinton referred to her husband's ultimately unsuccessful efforts to strike a comprehensive peace deal.

"As intractable as the Middle East's problems may seem . . . we cannot give up on peace," she said.

"We must also actively pursue a strategy of smart power in the Middle East that addresses the security needs of Israel and the legitimate political and economic aspirations of the Palestinians."

The Foreign Relations Committee planned to vote on Clinton's nomination tomorrow.