Ukraine crisis sees Hillary Clinton distance self from Barack Obama
23 March 2014 4:21 AM IST
Just over a year after leaving her job as secretary of state, Hillary Clinton has offered views on foreign policy that analysts said seem part of an effort to distance herself from the Obama administration as she prepares a possible 2016 White House run. In appearances this month, Clinton struck a hawkish tone on issues including Iran and Russia, even while expressing broad support for the work done by Obama and her successor as secretary of state, John Kerry.
Clinton, in New York on Wednesday night said that she was ‘personally sceptical’ of Iran’s commitment to reaching a comprehensive agreement on its nuclear program. ‘I’ve seen their behaviour over (the) years,’ she said, saying that if the diplomatic track failed, ‘every other option does remain on the table’.
Just two weeks earlier, Clinton was forced to backtrack after she drew parallels between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler at a closed-door fundraiser. In comments leaked to the media by a local reporter who attended the event, Clinton said Putin’s justifications for his actions in the Crimean region were akin to moves Hitler made in the years before World War II. ‘I’m not making a comparison, certainly, but I am recommending that we can perhaps learn from this tactic that has been used before,’ she said the next day at an event in Los Angeles. As secretary of state, Clinton was a key player in a US effort to reset relations with Russia, a policy that critics say now appears to be a glaring failure.
Clinton’s recent rhetoric on Iran and Russia is part of a renewed focus on foreign policy for the former first lady and New York senator, who is widely considered the Democratic presidential
frontrunner in 2016 if she chooses to run.
Clinton, in New York on Wednesday night said that she was ‘personally sceptical’ of Iran’s commitment to reaching a comprehensive agreement on its nuclear program. ‘I’ve seen their behaviour over (the) years,’ she said, saying that if the diplomatic track failed, ‘every other option does remain on the table’.
Just two weeks earlier, Clinton was forced to backtrack after she drew parallels between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler at a closed-door fundraiser. In comments leaked to the media by a local reporter who attended the event, Clinton said Putin’s justifications for his actions in the Crimean region were akin to moves Hitler made in the years before World War II. ‘I’m not making a comparison, certainly, but I am recommending that we can perhaps learn from this tactic that has been used before,’ she said the next day at an event in Los Angeles. As secretary of state, Clinton was a key player in a US effort to reset relations with Russia, a policy that critics say now appears to be a glaring failure.
Clinton’s recent rhetoric on Iran and Russia is part of a renewed focus on foreign policy for the former first lady and New York senator, who is widely considered the Democratic presidential
frontrunner in 2016 if she chooses to run.
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