Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Hillary Clinton on Edward Snowden and the Challenges of Diplomacy

Speaking to a crowd of 4,000 last night at Gibson Amphitheater in Universal City, CA, Hillary Clinton called Edward Snowden's absconding with four laptops containing sensitive information outrageous and China's decision to allow him to flee detrimental to our complex relationship with that government.

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Delivering a lecture sponsored by the Whizin Center for Continuing Education,  American Jewish University, she noted that diplomacy would be easy if the only parties we spoke to were our friends.  She cited the challenges of building relationships with rivals as an area where women leaders can make a special contribution and that the key is in recognizing and celebrating our common humanity.

Asked about her decision to run for president, she responded that she is happy to have made that contribution.  As secretary of state she was estranged from domestic issues  for four years  but often used her experience in politics to prod foreign leaders to trust increased democracy.   She  noted that the U.S. needs to exemplify how problems can be solved  in bipartisan ways.

The audience waited more than 45 minutes beyond the scheduled starting time, but according to the tweets that emanated from the auditorium patience prevailed.   Hillary Clinton is always worth the wait.  Here are a few twitpics. 

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