3rd Annual Hillary Rodham Clinton Year in Review: Installment XI November 2011

In November 2011, the very first post here was the announcement that Dorothy Howell Rodham was hospitalized and that Mme. Secretary has cancelled her trip to London.  We all knew it was serious since she never cancels trips.  Mrs. Rodham passed away early on the morning of the first,  and she was mourned across all of HillaryHood.  Hillary;s Facebook  groups were full of tributes, and sympathy note went up on Chelsea's FB wall.  We all have always known that without our Dorothy, we would never have had our Hillary.  Thank you so much Mrs. Rodham.  We love you.

Bill and Hillary Clinton were named together to the Forbes list of most powerful people.  Mme. Secretary resurfaced, after a brief period of mourning, to deliver an address at the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute’s (CCAI) The Way Forward Project Summit and the keynote address at the National Democratic Institute’s 2011 Democracy Awards Dinner on November 8.  She also delivered a speech,  “Creating an AIDS-Free Generation, ”  at the National Institutes of Health and named Ellen DeGeneres as Special Envoy for Global AIDS Awareness.  Ellen was honored and said she would go look up the word "envoy." 

Mme. Secretary was in the air again the next day for Hawaii where the U.S. was hosting an APEC Ministerial Summit.  At the East West Center she delivered a major address,  "America’s Pacific Century."  Mme. Secretary is known for her great sense of humor, and I personally, simply love her laugh, so it was a treat for all when, during a photo-op a scantily clad torch bearer ran behind the scene.  Her reaction was priceless.  Adorable!

Next she was wheels down in Manila under very heavy security.  Aboard the USS Fitzgerald,  with Philippine Secretary for Foreign Affairs Albert del Rosario,  she signed the Manila Declaration.  President Aquino awarded her the Order of  Lakandula.  Then she was wheels up for Bangkok where she met with PM Yingluck Shinawatra.   She visited an evacuation center for flood victims there before departing for Bali and ASEAN.  In Bali, she did a flfurry of interviews with American network TV anchors and attended the ASEAN gala dinner looking like a princess in a beautiful red print silk.  Breathtaking!

On the 20th, an op-ed in WSJ appeared that was different from the previous calls for Mme. Secretary to run in 2012.  It was the first salvo of the Caddell-Schoen effort that continues to escalate as I write.

She was home for Thanksgiving and a short rest.  Back at the State Department, on the 28th, she  hosted  a U.S. and European Union meeting on energy with Secretary of Energy Steven Chu,   E.U,  High Rep Catherine Ashton and Gunther Oettinger, E. U.  Commissioner of Energy.  She then participated in a high level U.S. – E.U. Summit at the White House.   Later in the day, she was wheels up for Asia again. 

On the 29th in Busan Mme. Secretary delivered the Keynote at the Opening Session of the Fourth High-Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness as well as remarks at the Special Session on Gender.   

She ended  November making history.  Touching down in Burma, she was the first US Secretary of State to visit there since John Foster Dulles 60 years ago when Hillary and I were little girls and we  liked Ike because you pretty much couldn't help it!   Overwhelming!
 
Speeches: Keynote Address at the National Democratic Institute’s 2011 Democracy Awards Dinner,  The Way Forward Project Summit, “Creating an AIDS-Free Generation,” America’s Pacific Century, ASEAN Business and Investment Summit,  Millennium Challenge Corporation Signing Ceremony, Keynote at the Opening Session of the Fourth High-Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness.

Travel: Hawaii, the Philippines, Thailand,  Indonesia, Korea, Burma.

Track Hillary Clinton on Americans Elect!

Our friend Brian Augustine found that HRC has been added to Americans Elect .  I signed up and am tracking her.  If you have a little trouble with step 2, be persistent.  I had to do it three or four times before I finally got to step 3.  

Let's all register and start tracking her!  Let's show our Hillary some love!

Note:  I am new to this and not completely sure how it works, so comments from people with helpful information are welcome!

3rd Annual Hillary Rodham Clinton Year in Review: Installment X October 2011

October 2011 began so lightheartedly, joyously.  The Clintons were in Little Rock celebrating the president's 20th anniversary of throwing his hat in the ring.  Back in DC after the celebratory weekend, she hosted a African Women’s Entrepreneurship Program. Later in the week she spoke to women entrepreneurs in Santo Domingo.  In DC again, she met with the new Libyan PM.  CNN Money named her the #1 most powerful woman in DC.  While media items encouraging her to run for POTUS in 2012 continued to flow into the news feeds,  she received a host of journalists for interviews at the State Department and hosted a luncheon to honor South Korean President Lee.


The Clintons celebrated their 36th anniversary in October.  Mme. Secretary was once again the cover girl on the October 14 issue of  Time.  At the Economic Club of New York, she unveiled her economic statecraft doctrine and then, with her family, headed to LA for a gala celebrating Bill's birthday (belatedly) and the 10th anniversary of his foundation.   Mme. Secretary rocked out with Terry McAuliffe and had a lot of fun.

She was interviewed by Savannah Guthrie on the Today Show and was wheels up for Malta.  There she offered our appreciation for their help in evacuating Americans from Libya during the heavy fighting.  Then she visited Libya, Oman, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.  While on foreign travel, she appeared on several Sunday morning talk shows on the 21st. 

Looking just beautiful,  Mme. Secretary was home for her birthday on the 26th, a day when I have always celebrated her and her mother who gave her to us. 

She testified before the House Foreign Affairs Committee on the 27th and hosted a gala at the State Department welcoming former Secretaries  Kissinger, Albright, and Powell.   The east coast was hit with a nor'easter that dumped a lot of snow as October drew to a close.  The State Department announced a trip to London scheduled for early the next week.  The trip was then cancelled.  Mrs. Dorothy Rodham, Hillary's mother, cherished by her, by Chelsea, by the whole family and by all of Hillary's loyal following was ill and was hospitalized. 

The month that began so jubilantly and provided so many celebrations ended in deep anxiety for us all. 

Travel:  Dominican Republic, Libya, Oman, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.


Speeches:  Women Entrepreneurs: Pathways to Prosperity, U.S.-Japan Council Annual Conference, President’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness,  Global Leadership at the Center for American Progress, U.S.-India Higher Education Summit, Economic Statecraft,  World Food Program USA’s George McGovern Leadership Award Ceremony.


Op-Eds: America’s Pacific Century.

3rd Annual Hillary Rodham Clinton Year in Review: Installment IX September 2011

September, the month of U.N. General Assembly (UNGA) and the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) , both of which take place in New York, began, for Mme. Secretary, in Paris, a city she visited often in 2011.  She always looks particularly joyous in Paris.  On this occasion, she was there for another meeting on Libya, including the new leadership.

Returning to DC, she attended the president's speech on jobs to a joint session of Congress.  By the weekend she was home in New York which, oddly, was considered official travel as she visited the New York Stock Exchange as part of a weekend of memorials both  she and President Clinton would attend over the 9/11 weekend.   Back in DC, she participated in a women's health event with President George W. Bush.  Meanwhile, the media calls for her to run for president in 2012 continued to roll into the news feeds.


Subsequent domestic travel to San Francisco was also official,  She participated in Australia – United States Ministerial Consultations (AUSMIN) and delivered the keynote address at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Women and the Economy Summit (WES).

The next official travel was back home to New York for UNGA and CGI with too many events and sideline bilaterals to enumerate.  As September drew to a close, Mme. Secretary, still being barraged by media to please run for POTUS in 2012, made her way to Little Rock to celebrate the  20th anniversary of Bill Clinton's declaration to run for POTUS.  Many of us still have hope that she will do the same, sooner rather than later  Meanwhile, we are planning on writing her in in our primaries. 

Speeches: A New Future Dawning in Libya, Smart Power Approach to Counterterrorism, Release of the 13th Annual Report on International Religious Freedom,  Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon Partnership,  Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Women and the Economy Summit,  Women’s Political Participation at UN Women Event, High Level Meeting on Nutrition, High-Level Meeting on Nuclear Safety Nuclear Safety, Remarks on the Global Counterterrorism Forum, With Chelsea Clinton at the Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting Conversation, UN High-Level Meeting on Somalia.


Travel: Paris,  New York, San Francisco.


Op-Ed: Let Us Remember — And Recommit

Shock and Awe! MSNBC Has No Idea Who BHL (Defender and Promoter of HRC) Is!

The sound that comes out of me is something between a sigh and a gasp. Warning:  There is nothing objective about the post below.  It is entirely personal.


Some of you will remember this post from March 31 of this year: CNN Video: Bernard-Henri Lévy Validates Hillary Clinton on Libya.   In short order after I posted it,  came the email notification that BHL was now following me on Twitter. (Yes, that one was a gasp.)  At that time, I was camping out at CNN almost exclusively, and Eliot Spitzer,  who frequently had BHL as a guest,  still had his show there.  Since he lost his show, I have made a slow but steady migration to MSNBC where I have seen Spitzer once at least, and where,  during the day, and increasingly in prime time we get to see the brilliant, beautiful Karen Finney on various panels. I keep encouraging the prime time folks to bring her on and tweet thank you tweets when they (Rachel, Ed, and, more often, Lawrence) have her.  The truth is that I wish they would give her one of the two hours they devote to Chris Matthews

So, when I turned on morning TV today, it was tuned to MSNBC and "Morning Joe," not hosted by Joe this morning (so he is off the hook perhaps) but rather by Willie Geist.  Imagine my  shock, and awe to see this!  (This is where the sigh/gasp occurred.)

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

I am flabbergasted!  They do not know who he is!  They bring on as a guest the guy who wrote the article about him in New York Magazine!   Heavens-to-Betsy!  They could have gotten the man himself!  He gladly would have hopped the pond at his own expense to make the appearance.

Of course this further argues for Karen to have her own show since she would never have done anything that stupid.  (I mean she would never do anything stupid at all!)  First of all, she knows who BHL is - I don't have to ask her.  I know she knows.  Second, if she did not know how to contact him (he probably follows her on twitter and Facebook too), she would know how to find out.  Third, she would never have used a secondary source when she could have the primary live.

At the end of "Morning Joe" they always ask the question: "What did we learn today?"  The guest co-host this morning, former PA Governor Ed Rendell,  did not say that he found out who BHL is, because, like Spitzer, he probably knows the man personally.  Neither did Geist make this admission, but the fact that BHL was not a guest today betrays that ignorance.  Pitiful!

In conclusion: While it may ruffle some feathers,  (I see you there fuming,  MW,  but we did the right thing and avoided a massacre),  BHL rightly places the historical credit for the NATO action in Libya on Sarkozy and HRC.  As the year ends, I do not want to see the credit for the Libyan action shifted to Obama.  Upon declaring the No-Fly-Zone he began his address with the words. "I didn't want to do this" while a tiny, determined HRC stood right beside him.

No, that will not fly with me or anyone who knows the facts about February and March 2011.   This issue of New York Magazine will stand as the accurate record.  I am thankful that Wallace-Wells did the research and wrote the article which I plan to acquire and preserve, but I wish MSNBC were a little smarter.

**RANT OVER**

3rd Annual Hillary Rodham Clinton Year in Review: Installment VIII August 2011

Mme. Secretary's first official act in August was to swear in Gary Locke as Ambassador to China.  The August cabinet meeting was photo-oped (debt-ceiling crisis - inspire confidence - everybody say "cheese!").   The State Department hosted baseball players from quake-stricken Fukushima, Japan hosted by two icons of the American work ethic:  Hillary Clinton and Cal Ripken Jr,   It was impressive to see those two together!

There was an interview in Glamour Magazine in August, and publications began calling heavily for HRC to run for president in 2012.  Mid-month, Mme. Secretary and newly minted Secretary of Defense Panetta did a reprise of her "Power and Persuasion"  CNN event with Robert Gates from October 2009.   On the 18th she made a video statement on the situation in Syria dressed in a white ruffled blouse that is simply enchanting on her, and then she was gone.  The Clintons went to the Hamptons for a well-deserved break.  The peace of the vacation was broken at the very end of the month with the announcement that she would once again be wheels up for Paris on the Libyan situation. 

Speeches: From Famine to Food Security in the Horn of Africa

Hillary and Barack Most Admired: USA Today/Gallup

Obama, Clinton top most-admired lists for 2011

By Cathy Lynn Grossman, USA TODAY

Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton are the nation's most admired man and woman — again — in the annual USA TODAY/Gallup Poll.

Each leads their category with 17% of votes in top 10 lists that favor the most familiar names in global politics, religion, entertainment and culture.

SNIP

Obama supplanted George W. Bush at No. 1 in 2008 but Bush continues in the No. 2 spot, according to the poll of 1,019 U.S. adults conducted Dec. 15-18.

Former president Bill Clinton hovers in third this year, just above the most frequently named person in the poll's history — the Rev. Billy Graham. The 93-year-old evangelist has been on the list since Gallup first asked the question in 1946 and has made the top 10 55 times.

Perennial runner-up Oprah Winfrey is No. 2 for women for the 10th time. It's her 24th year in the top 10.

First lady Michelle Obama garnered third place, dropping former Alaska governor Sarah Palin to fourth this year.

Read more >>>>

 
*Shakes head*  George W. comes out ahead of  WJC????  Well, I felt compelled to share this, but you have to wonder how informed the respondents are.

3rd Annual Hillary Rodham Clinton Year in Review: Installment VII July 2011

Mme. Secretary began July as she ended June, on foreign travel in Vilnius Lithuania.  Her next stop was Spain where she was greeted by FM Trinidad Jimenez and paid a visit to King Juan Carlos who clearly was charmed.  Then it was wheels up for home and the holiday weekend.  She returned to DC on the 6th and delivered remarks at TechWomen.  An Op-Ed, "Independence Day for South Sudan" appeared in WaPo on July 8.  On the 11th, wearing a stunning royal blue silk jacket, she participated in Quartet meetings in DC with SG Ban, Catherine Ashton, Sergei Lavrov, and Tony Blair.  Former First Lady Betty Ford passed away on the 8th,  and Mme. Secretary attended her memorial in California on the 12th along with former President Bush, and First Ladies Rosalynn Carter, Nancy Reagan, and Michelle Obama. 

Mid-month she was off for extensive travel to Turkey, Greece, India, Indonesia and China.  She delivered remarks at the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC).  She was stunning on a visit to the Patriarchy in Istanbul, and she stopped by an Istanbul TV set for an informal interview where two kitty-cats could not resist her magnetism.   Next it was wheels-down Athens and a visit to the Acropolis Museum that yielded still more beautiful images.

From Athens, she flew to New Delhi and meetings with Sonia Gandhi, FM Krishna, and PM Singh.  She delivered remarks at the U.S.-India Strategic Dialogue  and the Working Women’s Forum,  and it was wheels up New Delhi, and wheels down Bali where she attended the ASEAN Conference and U.S.-Lower Mekong Ministerial Meeting delivering opening remarks at both.

Then it was wheels up Bali and wheels down Hong Kong where she delivered a Principles for Prosperity address.  On the 27th she was back in DC to a full schedule.  At USAID’s Saving Lives at Birth Development Exchange Awards Ceremony, she delivered and address:  “77 Inventions That Could Save Moms and Babies.”  Finally,  she visited the Norwegian Embassy to sign the guest book for all of us in the wake of the horrific shootings at a camp there, and July 2011 was history.

Travel:  Lithuania, Spain, Turkey, Greece, India, Indonesia, China.


Speeches: Community of Democracies Ministerial, Lifeline Donor Steering Committee,  TechWomen, Open Government Partnership, 2011 U.S. Global Leadership Coalition. Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), U.S.-India Strategic Dialogue, Working Women’s Forum, Opening of US-ASEAN Ministerial Meeting,  U.S.-Lower Mekong Ministerial Meeting, Principles for Prosperity, 77 Inventions That Could Save Moms and Babies.

Op-Eds: Independence Day for South Sudan

Putin: Let Them Wear Tin-Foil Hats!

Vladimir Putin, the beleaguered  PM of Russia and Presidential candidate, under attack country-wide for flawed parliamentary elections,  fights protests with insults that the crowds have become adept at turning back on him.  This VOA article today provides some insight into the nature of the demonstrations,  including reactions to an accusation from Putin involving our girl.

Message from Sakharov Avenue: Russia’s Emperor Has No Clothes

... protesters noted that the Kremlin sent condolences to Pyongyang after the death of Kim Jong Il, North Korea’s “Supreme Leader,” but neglected to send condolences to Prague after the death of Vaclav Havel, the anti-Soviet activist and elected President of the Czech Republic.

On Sakharov Avenue, named after the Soviet-era dissident, elderly protesters carried black and white photographss of the late Czech President, with the inscription: “Havel Would Be With us!”

Other protesters took aim at Mr. Putin’s charge that the protesters were paid by foreign governments and activated by a secret signal from U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Signs demanded: “Hillary, Where is My Money?” “Hillary, I am waiting for my money,” “Let’s bankrupt the State Department.”
One man held a sign announcing: “I am Here For Free.”
Read more >>>>

Well, as we all know, our girl did attend Havel's funeral on Friday wearing this fascinating headpiece designed and made for her by an artist friend of Havel's.

As far as we know, it does not transmit secret signals.  Neither does the State Department have a budget sufficient to pay off all of Russia.  It is not known whether Putin's treasury is large enough to provide tin-foil hats for the populace, but given their mood, we doubt they would wear them.  More likely, if that guy with the Picasso display is any barometer,  they would find some artful way to use the tin foil to fire back at Putin.

3rd Annual Hillary Rodham Clinton Year in Review: Installment VI June 2011

June started off in DC with some bilaterals  The new Brazilian FM Patriota visited for the first time.  Mme. Secretary accepted the George C. Marshall Award (and seriously needs that museum/library I keep advocating for in Seneca Falls). Then it was home to NY where she attended the wedding of Tricia Nixon Cox's son Christopher wearing a smashing teal coat.

Back in DC she launched the Women's World Cup Initiative and welcomed Angela Merkel on a state visit to Washington.  The next day, she hit the tarmac again for a conference on Libya in Abu-Dhabi, and then stops in Zambia, Tanzania, and finally a stop in Ethiopia where she attended a meeting of the African Union where she delivered remarks partially in a blackout.  She had to leave early due to a volcano eruption and mysteriously took three days to get home.  We later discovered that her plane developed mechanical problems and they had to layover in Dubai for awhile.  She was in DC for a Japan-U.S. event which she co-hosted with outgoing Defense Secretary Gates, and then was off to a conference in Guatemala.  From there she flew to Montego Bay for a CARICOM conference.

Back in DC, she appeared before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to testify on Afghanistan.  She spoke with Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf who won the Nobel Peace Prize later in the year.   She was received enthusiastically at her own department when she delivered her Gay Pride Month remarks to GLIFAA  and declared that  gay rights are human rights and human rights are gay rights ... once and for all.

Former Secretary of State Lawrence Eagleburger had passed away earlier in the month, and she delivered remarks at his memorial.   Mme. Scretary ended the month with visits to Hungary, where she dedicated the Lantos Institute in Budapest and Lithuania where she spoke at Tech Camp Vilnius among other venues.  We see her with President of Lithuania,  Dalia Grybauskaite. 


Speeches: George C. Marshall Award; Promoting Commercial Opportunities conference.in Iraq;  Women’s World Cup Initiative: Empowering Women and Girls Through Sports; African Growth and Opportunity Forum; 1000 Days Initiative; Support for the Central American Security Strategy; CARICOM; GLIFAA; Eagleburger Memorial; Lantos Institute;  Tech Camp Vilnius.


Travel: Abu-Dhabi; Zambia;  Tanzania; Ethiopia; Guatemala; Jamaica.


Op-Eds: Joint Op-Ed with William Hague on Bosnia-Herzegovina; Op-Ed condemning the violence in Syria.

Video: New Hampshire for Hillary 2012 from Boowitch13

Here's a great Christmas gift from Boowitch13.  Her work is always outstanding.  This speaks for itself!  Please share!  Let's do it right this time!

3rd Annual Hillary Rodham Clinton Year in Review: Installment V May 2011

May started with a very big bang and a little controversy over some publications removing women, HRC being the prominent one,  from a picture of the principals in the Situation Room as Seal Team Eight removed Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan.   HRC was right when, in Pakistan in October 2009,  she said that he was hiding there.  May saw articles about her in Time and Vanity Fair, and an interview in The Atlantic.   An interview with Julia Roberts, and a special, "Extraordinary Moms," featuring Mme. Secretary aired on the Oprah Winfrey Network.

A huge U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue took place in Washington, and Mme. Secretary was heavily involved hosting functions at the State Department.  Victoria Nuland was appointed Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs replacing P.J. Crowley, and Anne Patterson, former ambassador to Pakistan,  was named ambassador to Egypt replacing Margaret Scobey.

An on-again off-again trip to Pakistan was on again, and then she was home in Chappaqua marching in the Memorial Day Parade!

Speeches:  Mobile Alliance for Maternal Action; Conference on the Americas; Mexican American Leadership Initiative; Global Diaspora Forum; 50th Anniversary of the Operations Center; 50th Anniversary of the OECD; UNESCO Global Partnership for Girls’ and Women's Education


Travel: Rome,  Greenland; London; Paris; Pakistan

Merry Christmas, Mme. Secretary!

Wishing you a lovely holiday with your family, a restful break, and a happy and healthy 2012.  We love you and hope that this somehow happens. We are right here waiting for you to say the word.

Merry Christmas and Happy Hannukah to all my friends here, and all the best for the new year!

3rd Annual Hillary Rodham Clinton Year in Review: Installment IV April 2011

In early April, Israeli President Shimon Peres visited Washington and Secretary Clinton met with him at Blair House.  Those two, when they are together, always appear to have a romance going.  The Clintons and Mrs. Rodham all went to San Diego to attend the retirement party of the former White House chef, Chief Culinary Specialist Oscar Flores, aboard the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Makin Island. She released the 2010 Human Rights Report annoying some since she included the U.S. in it for the first time, a move she defended logically in her remarks.  In the face of one of several threats of a government shutdown in 2011,  Passport Day was cancelled.  Mme. Secretary co-chaired  the closing session of the second annual U.S.-China High-Level Consultation on People-to-People Exchange (CPE) with Chinese State Councilor Liu Yandong, at the Department of State on April 12.  She attended a NATO conference on Libya in Germany, and visited earthquake-stricken Japan where she dropped in on the Emperor and Empress.   Back home, she made an appearance with Charlie Rose and was named among Time's 100 Most Influential.   As April drew to a close, she swore in some cute temporary staff members on "Take your child to work day," and accepted the resignation of P.J. Crowley as State Department spokesperson.

Pictures from Prague: The Clintons and Madeleine Albright at Vaclav Havel's Funeral

A U.S. delegation headed by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton attended the funeral of former Czech President Vaclav Havel at Prague's St. Vitus Cathedral today.  The delegation included former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright who served in Clinton's cabinet at the time Havel, the leader of the "Velvet Revolution" that brought down communist rule in Czechoslovakia,  was president.  It appears, although I cannot be certain, that Secretary Clinton was wearing a velvet coat.  It has been noted in these pages over the years that Mme. Secretary uses her wardrobe as part of her diplomacy much the way her predecessor, Secretary Albright used brooches.

From today's press briefing:

Mark C. Toner

Acting Spokesperson
Daily Press Briefing

Washington, DC

December 23, 2011

QUESTION: Can you let us know, Mark, when the Secretary’s back in the United States?
MR. TONER: I will. She is wheels-up from Prague, so she’s (inaudible).
QUESTION: Thank you.
MR. TONER: Again, merry Christmas and happy New Year and all that stuff.
(The briefing was concluded at 12:23 p.m.)

3rd Annual Hillary Rodham Clinton Year in Review: Installment III March 2011

March 2011: It was Women's History Month and the Arab Spring was breaking out all over with women taking a huge role.  We lost Geraldine Ferraro.  Mme. Secretary testified on the Hill several times before the Senate Foreign Relations and Appropriations committees and the House Foreign Affairs and Appropriations committees.  Once she testified in a closed, classified session.  Issues were her 2012 budget as well as the role we were assuming in the Libyan crisis.
She engaged in some very rapid shuttle diplomacy flying to London and twice in one week to Paris in order to consolidate that role in the establishment of the No-Fly Zone.  Then she visited newly liberated Cairo and Tunis.
Her daughter Chelsea proudly introduced her when she spoke in New York at the Women in the World event, and First Lady Michelle Obama joined her once again for the State Department's Women of Courage event.

Hillary Clinton and Madeleine Albright to Attend Havel's Funeral Friday **UPDATED**

I have not seen this confirmed by the State Department, but thought I would pass it along nonetheless.

Clinton, Albright, Cameron to attend Havel's funeral in Prague

Prague - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, her predecessor Madeleine Albright and British Prime Minister David Cameron will attend the funeral of former Czech president Vaclav Havel on Friday, Havel's secretary Sabina Tancevova confirmed to CTK today.
Former U.S. President Bill Clinton may come, too, Tancevova said.
The U.S. presidential delegation will probably consist of four persons, including U.S. ambassador to the Czech Republic Norman Eisen.
Read More>>>>

UPDATE>>>>>>>

Posted at 05:28 PM ET, 12/21/2011

In other news: Hillary Clinton to lead U.S. delegation to Vaclav Havel funeral; Lou Reed remembers late Czech leader

By The Reliable Source

Bill and Hillary Clinton greet Vaclav Havel at the White House, 1998. (Stephen Jaffe/AFP )
Hillary Clinton will lead the official U.S. delegation to the funeral of Václav Havel, the White House announced Thursday. The secretary of state will be joined by Bill Clinton — they hosted the late former president of the Czech Republic at a 1998 state dinner — as well as Madeleine Albright and Ambassador Norman Eisen, the U.S. envoy in Prague.

Read More >>>>>

SECRETARY HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON: Public Schedule for December 21, 2011

Public Schedule for December 21, 2011

Public Schedule

Washington, DC

December 21, 2011

---

SECRETARY HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON

Secretary Clinton has no public appointments.

3rd Annual Hillary Rodham Clinton Year in Review: Installment I January 2011

Mme. Secretary kicked off  February with innovation!  After the morning Cabinet meeting at the White House she brought the Cabinet over to Foggy Bottom for an Interagency Task Force meeting on human trafficking.  The next day,  she called all chiefs of mission to the State Department for an  inaugural conference of what will become an annual event.  Mid-month she gave a speech on internet rights and wrongs at George Washington University.

Travel:  Munich  on the 5th and 6th; Geneva the 28th

Speeches:  Internet Rights and Wrongs; Asia Society

Video: Secretary Clinton with Cypriot FM Kozakou-Marcoullis

Remarks With Cypriot Foreign Minister Erato Kozakou-Marcoullis Before Their Meeting

Remarks

Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State

Treaty Room

Washington, DC

December 20, 2011

---

SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, I am delighted to welcome another foreign minister and one with whom we work closely, and the relationships between our two countries is deepening and broadening all of the time. We’re very pleased that we work together on regional issues as well as bilateral, and we will be discussing those in great depth. And I want to welcome you here, Foreign Minister, and thank you for coming.
FOREIGN MINISTER KOZAKOU-MARKOULLIS: Madam Secretary, thank you very much. Thank you for giving me this opportunity to be here with you and discuss I think what will be a very interesting and important agenda that we have in front of us, dealing with issues of common interest and concern, (inaudible) Cyprus (inaudible), issues about presidency to the European Union, the Middle East, and our neighbors in north part of Africa, and the uprising in the Arab Spring. All these are very interesting issues, and I look forward to discussing them with you.
SECRETARY CLINTON: Thank you so much.
FOREIGN MINISTER KOZAKOU-MARKOULLIS: Thank you

Hillary Clinton: Deeply Disappointed in DRC's Supreme Court Election Decision

Supreme Court Decision Confirming Results of the Presidential Election in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)

Press Statement

Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State

Washington, DC

December 20, 2011

---

The United States is deeply disappointed by the Democratic Republic of the Congo Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the electoral commission’s provisional results without fully evaluating widespread reports of irregularities. We believe that the management and technical execution of these elections were seriously flawed, lacked transparency and did not measure up to the democratic gains we have seen in recent African elections. However, it is still not clear whether the irregularities were sufficient to change the outcome of the election.
We believe that a review of the electoral process by the Congolese authorities and outside experts may shed additional light on the cause of the irregularities, identify ways to provide more credible results, and offer guidance for the ongoing election results and for future elections. We strongly urge all Congolese political leaders and their supporters to act responsibly, renounce violence, and resolve any disagreements through peaceful, constructive dialogue.
We have called on Congolese authorities to investigate and prevent election related human rights violations and we urge security forces to show restraint in maintaining order. The United States continues to offer our assistance and we stand with the Congolese people in their quest for greater peace and democracy at home and throughout the region.

SECRETARY HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON: Public Schedule for December 20, 2011

Public Schedule for December 20, 2011

Public Schedule

Washington, DC

December 20, 2011

---

SECRETARY HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON

9:15 a.m. Secretary Clinton meets with the assistant secretaries, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

10:00 a.m. Secretary Clinton meets with departing UK Ambassador Nigel Sheinwald, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

10:30 a.m. Secretary Clinton holds a bilateral meeting with Cypriot Foreign Minister Erato Kozakou-Marcoullis, at the Department of State.
(CAMERA SPRAY PRECEDING BILATERAL MEETING)

3:30 p.m. Secretary Clinton meets with Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

3rd Annual Hillary Rodham Clinton Year in Review: Installment I January 2011

For the third time, we will count down to the new year with a review of each month the the year past beginning, as always, with January 2011. 

• Travel: Brasilia for the inauguration of Dilma Rouseff; UAE;  a surprise visit to Yemen;  Oman; Qatar; Mexico; Haiti.
• Speeches: Her now famous Doha speech at Forum for the Future; a tribute to the late Richard Holbrooke; in the advent of President Hu's visit, an address on the future of U.S.-Chinese relations.
• Events: Hosted a day each of bilateral meetings with the foreign ministers of China and Japan; attended the arrival of President Hu at the White House as well as the state dinner (escorted by a handsome white-haired gent.); attended the State of the Union address.

The year/month began with the New Year's Day inauguration of Rouseff in Brazil and ended with a phenomenal Sunday where she made the rounds of five morning talk shows, hopped on her plane for Haiti, and spent a whilrwind day there touring a cholera clinic and meeting all the presidential candidates.

Hillary Clinton: The Passing of Kim Jong Il

The Passing of National Defense Commission Chairman Kim Jong Il

Press Statement

Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State

Washington, DC

December 19, 2011

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With the passing of National Defense Commission Chairman Kim Jong Il, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is now in a period of national mourning.  We are deeply concerned with the well being of the North Korean people and our thoughts and prayers are with them during these difficult times.  It is our hope that the new leadership of the DPRK will choose to guide their nation onto the path of peace by honoring North Korea’s commitments, improving relations with its neighbors, and respecting the rights of its people.  The United States stands ready to help the North Korean people and urges the new leadership to work with the international community to usher in a new era of peace, prosperity and lasting security on the Korean Peninsula.

She has this look of "I'm not afraid of you, little boy! Bring it on!

Hillary Robocalls and a Petition

Reported robocalls, which I have tried (and failed) to post here are connected to this petition site.  (If I can figure out how to post the MP3 here above the fold, I shall.  If I cannot, maybe Jen can figure out how to share it in the thread since she put it on Facebook.)

Sign the petition! 

YES! 
I support Hillary Rodham Clinton to be our next President.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton should be the Democratic Party’s 2012 Presidential nominee. 
Run Hillary Run!

GO TO THE PETITION SITE AND SIGN!!!!>>>>

Secretary Clinton: Women, Peace and Security **Video**

Women, Peace, and Security

Address

Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State

Washington, DC

December 19, 2011

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Thank you.  Well, it is wonderful to be back at Georgetown to give all of the students an excuse not to keep studying for their last finals.  (Laughter.)  That’s what accounts for the enthusiastic response here in Gaston Hall.  But thank you so much, President DeGioia.  This great university has such a long history of nurturing diplomats and peacemakers and at least one former president who still bleeds blue and gray.  (Applause.)  And the little-known secret, which I’ll spill today, is that my husband and Melanne and her husband were all at Georgetown at the same time, so who knows what might happen in decades from now with all of you and your colleagues.
I also want to acknowledge two members of Congress who are here, Russ Carnahan and John Conyers – thank you very much – as well as members of the diplomatic corps.  And I personally wish to welcome President Jahjaga of Kosovo, who has been a champion for peace and reconciliation, and also for women in her country and beyond.  President Jahjaga has been a strong voice and someone who we are very proud of and impressed by.  I’m also pleased to be joined, as you’ve already heard, from a great group of colleagues from across our government – Under Secretary Michele Flournoy, Admiral Sandy Winnefeld, Deputy AID Director Don Steinberg, Samantha Power from the White House, and others who are here in the audience.
And on a personal basis, I want to say to Michele Flournoy, who has just announced that she will be leaving early next year from the Defense Department, what a valued partner she has been and a terrific leader for our country.  And we will miss you, but we know your public service days are far from over.  Thank you, Michele.  (Applause.)
I also want to recognize all the members of our Armed Forces who are with us today.  I’d like to give them all a round of applause.  (Applause.)  All of you and those who you are serving with and leading are on our minds and in our hearts this holiday season.  This is, after all, a time when we are called upon to think more deeply about peace and what more we can do to try to achieve it.  And we also think about security and what kind of a gift we can give to future generations so that they too have the opportunities that all of us enjoy.
Today, I want to focus on one aspect of peacemaking that too often goes overlooked – the role of women in ending conflict and building lasting security.  Some of you may have watched a week ago Saturday as three remarkable women – two from Liberia, one from Yemen – accepted the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo.  For years, many of us have tried to show the world that women are not just victims of war; they are agents of peace.  And that was the wisdom behind the historic UN Security Council Resolution 1325, which was adopted a decade ago but whose promise remains largely unfulfilled.  So it was deeply heartening to see those three women command the global spotlight and urge the international community to adopt an approach to making peace that includes women as full and equal partners.
And that call was underscored this past Thursday when hundreds of leaders and activists gathered at the State Department to launch a new partnership with America’s top women’s colleges to train and support women and girls going into public service around the world.  And of course, those women were incredibly impressive and some were quite courageous.  One took me aside and said that she hadn’t gotten permission from her government to come, but she came anyway.  They are so eager to pour their talents and energy into their communities and to make their countries even better.  They are ready to work for peace, enter politics, serve in the military, lead civil society, live up to their own God-given potential.  They just need the opportunity.
And that is why, in a speech that I delivered in New York on Friday night, I highlighted the growing body of evidence that shows how women around the world contribute to making and keeping peace, and that these contributions lead to better outcomes for entire societies.  From Northern Ireland to Liberia to Nepal and many places in between, we have seen that when women participate in peace processes, they focus discussion on issues like human rights, justice, national reconciliation, and economic renewal that are critical to making peace, but often are overlooked in formal negotiations.  They build coalitions across ethnic and sectarian lines, and they speak up for other marginalized groups.  They act as mediators and help to foster compromise.  And when women organize in large numbers, they galvanize opinion and help change the course of history.
Think of those remarkable women in Liberia who marched and sang and prayed until their countries’ warring factions finally agreed to end their conflict and move toward democracy.  If you have seen the movie – and if you haven’t, I highly recommend it – it’s called Pray The Devil Back To Hell – you know that these brave women literally laid siege to the negotiations until the men inside the rooms signed a deal.
Now I know some of you may be thinking to yourself, “Well, there she goes again.  Hillary Clinton always talks about women, and why should I or anyone else really care?”  Well, you should care because this is not just a woman’s issue.  It cannot be relegated to the margins of international affairs.  It truly does cut to the heart of our national security and the security of people everywhere, because the sad fact is that the way the international community tries to build peace and security today just isn’t getting the job done.  Dozens of active conflicts are raging around the world, undermining regional and global stability, and ravaging entire populations.  And more than half of all peace agreements fail within five years.
At the same time, women are too often excluded from both the negotiations that make peace and the institutions that maintain it.  Now of course, some women wield weapons of war – that’s true – and many more are victims of it.  But too few are empowered to be instruments of peace and security.  That is an unacceptable waste of talent and of opportunity for the rest of us as well.  Across the Middle East and North Africa, nations are emerging from revolution and beginning the transition to democracy.  And here too, women are being excluded and increasingly even targeted.
Recent events in Egypt have been particularly shocking.  Women are being beaten and humiliated in the same streets where they risked their lives for the revolution only a few short months ago.  And this is part of a deeply troubling pattern.  Egyptian women have been largely shut out of decision-making in the transition by both the military authorities and the major political parties.  At the same time, they have been specifically targeted both by security forces and by extremists.
Marchers celebrating International Women’s Day were harassed and abused.  Women protesters have been rounded up and subjected to horrific abuse.  Journalists have been sexually assaulted.  And now, women are being attacked, stripped, and beaten in the streets.  This systematic degradation of Egyptian women dishonors the revolution, disgraces the state and its uniform, and is not worthy of a great people.  As some Egyptian politicians and commentators have themselves noted, a new democracy cannot be built on the persecution of women, nor can any stable society.  Whether it’s ending conflict, managing a transition, or rebuilding a country, the world cannot afford to continue ignoring half the population.  Not only can we do better; we have to do better, and now we have a path forward as to how we will do better.
That is why this morning, President Obama signed an Executive Order launching the first-ever U.S. National Action Plan on Women, Peace, and Security – a comprehensive roadmap for accelerating and institutionalizing efforts across the United States Government to advance women’s participation in making and keeping peace.  This plan builds on the President’s national security strategy, and it was jointly developed by the Departments of State and Defense, USAID, and others with guidance from the White House.  I also want to take a moment to recognize all our partners in civil society and the private sector who contributed, many of whom are here today.  Without your on-the-ground experience, your passionate commitment, and your tireless effort, this plan would not exist, and we look forward to working just as closely together with you on implementing it.
Let me describe briefly how we will do that.  The plan lays out five areas in which we will redouble our efforts.  First, we will partner with women in vulnerable areas to prevent conflicts from breaking out in the first place.  Women are bellwethers of society and, in fact, sometimes they do play the role of canary in the coal mine.  They know when communities are fraying and when citizens fear for their safety.  Studies suggest that women’s physical security and higher levels of gender equality correlate with security and peacefulness of entire countries.  But political leaders too often overlook women’s knowledge and experience until it’s too late to stop violence from spiraling out of control.
So the United States will invest in early warning systems that incorporate gender analysis and monitor increases in violence and discrimination against women, which can be indicators of future conflict.  We will also support grassroots women’s organizations that work to stop violence and promote peace.  And because women’s economic empowerment leads to greater prosperity for their societies, we are putting women and girls at the center of our global efforts on food security, health, and entrepreneurship.  We are working to lower barriers to their economic participation so more women in more places have the opportunity to own their land, start their businesses, access markets, steps that will ultimately lift up not only their families but entire economies and societies.
But what if, despite our best efforts, conflict does flare?  A second focus of our National Action Plan is strengthening protection for women and girls during and after conflict.  We will work with partners on the ground to crack down on rape as a tactic of war, hold perpetrators of violence accountable, and support survivors of sexual and gender-based violence.
Now one place to start is with the poorly trained soldiers and police who contribute to a culture of lawlessness, of violence and impunity, and often are fueled by discrimination against any woman outside their family.  The United States will help build the capacity of foreign militaries, police forces, and justice systems to strengthen the rule of law and ensure that protecting civilians and stopping sexual and gender-based violence in particular is a shared priority.  We are also working with the UN to recruit more female peacekeepers, to better train all peacekeepers to prevent, predict, and react to violence against civilians, and to address the political dynamics that drive sexual violence in conflict areas, because it’s not just soldiers.  Political leaders, local influentials set the tone for these abuses, and they must be held accountable as well.
The United States will support survivors of violence and help give them new tools to report crimes and access shelters, rehabilitation centers, legal support, and other services.  We will also back advocacy organizations that reach out to men and boys, including religious and tribal leaders, to reduce sexual and gender-based violence in homes and communities.
I worked some years ago with citizens in Senegal to end the practice of female circumcision, and we made the case on the basis that it was bad for the health of the future mothers of Senegal.  And we were able to convince tribal and religious leaders to join our cause, and it’s that kind of programmatic approach that we want to see more of.
Now ultimately, the best way to protect citizens is to end the conflict itself.  So a third focus of the National Action Plan is expanding women’s participation in peace processes and decision-making institutions before, during, and after conflicts.  As I explained in my speech on Friday in New York, women bring critical perspectives and concerns to the peace table, and can help shape stronger and more durable agreements.
Take just one example.  During 2006 peace negotiations in Darfur, male negotiators deadlocked over the control of a particular river until local women, who have the experience of fetching water and washing clothes, pointed out that the river had already dried up.  (Laughter.)  Yeah, I know.  I particularly like that one, too.  (Laughter.)
Excluding women means excluding the entire wealth of knowledge, experience, and talent we can offer.  So the United States will use the full weight of our diplomacy to push combatants and mediators to include women as equal partners in peace negotiations.  We will work with civil society to help women and other leaders give voice to the voiceless.  And we will also help countries affected by conflict design laws, policies, and practices that promote gender equality so that women can be partners in rebuilding their societies after the violence ends.
And that brings me to the fourth focus of our plan – ensuring that relief and recovery efforts address the distinct needs of women and girls who are the linchpins of families and communities and invaluable partners in stabilizing countries scarred by conflict.  This is crucial because humanitarian crises caused by conflict can be just as dangerous as the fighting itself and can sow the seeds of future instability.   Women are often among the most vulnerable in crises, yet they rarely receive a proportionate share of assistance or have the chance to help set post-conflict priorities.  But with the right tools and support, women can lead recovery efforts and help get their communities back on their feet.
So the United States will encourage our international partners to include women and civil society organizations in the design and implementation of relief efforts and reconstruction planning.  We will designate gender advisors for all USAID crisis response and recovery teams, and these advisors will highlight the specific concerns of women and girls to ensure that their perspectives are solicited and incorporated in the design and implementation of our programs.  Refugees and other displaced people are highly vulnerable to exploitation and abuse, including sexual violence.  So we will prioritize prevention and response to sexual violence, along with other lifesaving humanitarian assistance, and help build critical services such as food distribution, emergency education, cash-for-work programs, and health centers around women and their needs, including reproductive and maternal healthcare.
Small steps can have a big impact.  For example, I’ve talked with women who walk long distances from their refugee camps to find wood for their cooking fires, putting them at great risk of assault and rape.  I remember being in the very large camp in Goma in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.  And all the women told me the same thing – that they were in this camp where there were many international NGOs and humanitarian relief organizations, but they were still having to go out on their own to find wood, to make sure that they had an adequate supply of fuel, and they were subject to attack when they left the camp.  And it struck me as sort of strange that here we had all these people; couldn’t we organize either teams of people to help the women as they went out and to protect them, or was there a better way that we could pursue to really eliminate this problem?
So we are supporting a global effort to provide cleaner and safer stoves that require less fuel and, therefore, fewer trips through dangerous territory.  The Clean Cookstoves Global Alliance that we are at the center of creating and expanding is doing research with the National Institutes of Health because this is a three-for-one investment.  Yes, women don’t have to stray so far from home or from a refugee camp to have fuel to cook the family’s food.  Secondly, children and women will not be dying from respiratory diseases which are, unfortunately, the byproduct of breathing that smoke all day every day, sometimes in very confined spaces.  And thirdly, we will cut down on black carbon and black soot, which is good for the environment.  So we’re very focused on bringing this to scale over the next years, and we have a lot of support in doing so.
Now, I realize that this National Action Plan lays out an ambitious agenda that will require a lot of concentrated and coordinated effort.  So the fifth focus is institutionalizing this work across the United States Government.  As part of this process, we will increase training for our troops, diplomats, and development experts on international human rights and humanitarian law, protecting civilians, preventing and responding to sexual and gender-based violence, and combating trafficking-in-persons.  We will update policies and practices across our government, because our goal is to fundamentally change the way we do business.
The President’s Executive Order directs key departments and agencies to develop comprehensive strategies to implement the National Action Plan within five months.  And let me offer a few specific examples of what this will look like.  At the State Department, we have already begun a new initiative on women, peace, and security in Africa, focused on building local capacity in countries affected by conflict.  Its first round of grants will train women activists and journalists in Kenya in early-warning systems for violence, support a new trauma center for rape survivors in Sudan, help women in the Central African Republic access legal and economic services, and improve collection of medical evidence for prosecution of gender-based violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
And that’s just the beginning, because around the world, from Iraq and Afghanistan, to South Sudan, the new transitional democracies in the Middle East and North Africa, our embassies are developing local strategies to empower women politically, economically, and socially.
At USAID, among other projects, we will be launching a new Global Women’s Leadership Fund in partnership with the Consortium for Elections and Political Process Strengthening.  This will train women activists and civil society leaders and support their participation in peace negotiations, political transitions, and democratic institutions.  And we’re also stepping up our efforts to combat human trafficking in conflict zones.
The Department of Defense, which helped develop the National Action Plan, will have a lead role in implementing it.  The fact that both Sandy Winnefeld and Michele Flournoy are here reflects the lessons our nation’s military has learned in the last ten years and its deep understanding about the links between the security and agency of women and the peace and stability of nations.   So by working with partner militaries, the Pentagon will build on the excellent work already underway in places like Afghanistan – where our Provincial Reconstruction Teams engage with communities to curb violence against women, honor killings, and female immolation – and in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where AFRICOM experts are training local soldiers to protect human rights and prevent sexual and gender-based violence. 
And I’m very proud that we have several female flag and general officers with us today, living proof of how important women are to American national security.  In today’s military, women are leading carrier strike groups, expeditionary strike groups, and numbered air forces.  They are on the frontlines, defending our country, responding to disasters, and working with our allies and our partners.
And other parts of our government are also stepping forward.  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is launching a new system to monitor sexual and gender-based violence in nearly 20 countries.  The Department of Justice is working with police, prosecutors, judges, and jail workers around the world to increase accountability for sexual violence and human trafficking.  And the list goes on.  Suffice it to say, this is truly a whole-of-government effort as well as an international effort.
And the National Action Plan will help us work with allies and partners here at home as well as abroad, and I’m delighted by the announcement, President DeGioia and Dean Lancaster, about Georgetown’s leadership.  There couldn’t be a better institution to lead the way in the academic work that is necessary around these issues.  And in fact, more than 30 countries have already developed their own national action plans.
NATO is factoring women and their needs into key planning processes and training courses, stationing gender experts throughout operational headquarters, and deploying female engagement teams to Afghanistan, where the alliance is also training local women to serve in the security forces.  In 2012, 10 percent of the Afghan military academy’s class will be women, and by 2014 Afghanistan expects to field 5,000 women Afghan national police officers.
The United Nations is also making important progress, building on Resolution 1325.  With strong U.S. support, the Security Council has already adopted four additional resolutions on women and security in just the past three years.  And last month, the General Assembly’s Third Committee adopted a new U.S.-led resolution to encourage greater political participation for women and an expanded role in making and keeping peace.  And the establishment of a new organization within the UN system focused on gender called UN Women, headed by the former President of Chile Michele Bachelet is also making this an important focus.  And the Secretary General has appointed a special representative for sexual violence in conflict – a step we strongly supported – and the Department of Peacekeeping Operations has steadily improved its guidance to peacekeeping in order to offer protection and leadership as key training components.
Now, why is all this happening, all these countries, the United Nations, NATO, and certainly us?  Well, the reason is because we are convinced.  We have enough anecdotal evidence and research that demonstrates women in peacekeeping is both the right thing to do and the smart thing, as well.  It’s right, because, after all, women are affected disproportionately by conflict; they deserve to participate in the decisions that shape their own lives.  And it’s the smart thing because we have seen again and again that women participating in these processes builds more durable peace.
But as strong as the case is, it’s true that the question of just how women contribute to peace and security, aside from the high-profile woman who sits at the table, or the nation’s leader that makes the peace, what it is that women themselves across the board can do?  Well, this does deserve far more quantitative research and rigorous study.  That’s why Georgetown’s plan to establish an Institute for Women, Peace, Security, and Development, to support scholarship and research, as well as outreach, will help us elevate public understanding of this important matter.  It will be a home for primary source material such as oral histories, and quality analysis that will help activists and leaders as well.  I can’t wait to see it up and going.  A new push on research and data collection will be particularly useful for us as we implement our own National Action Plan.
Of course, we know that change will not come easily and it certainly won’t come quickly. But to ensure that we are headed in the right direction, that our strategies are effective and sustainable, we have to be able to measure what we are doing.  And that means developing sound metrics to guide us.  So thanks to Georgetown for taking on this really important task.
Let me close by telling you about one woman whose experiences and accomplishments embody much of what we are discussing today, and that is our special guest, the president of Kosovo.  She’s here with us today, and I’ve been able to spend some wonderful time with her over the last few days and in meetings before she came.  And I won’t, like Carol, tell you how young she is, but let’s just say that she’s accomplished a great deal in a very short period.
The future president was still a student when war tore apart her homeland.  Now, I will never forget those days – meeting Kosovar families in a refugee camp, meeting others in Europe, hearing their stories of being forced from their homes at gunpoint, or the haunted pain in the eyes of a doctor who was literally chased from caring for her patients.  It was a terrible conflict, and I’m very proud of the role that the United States played in ending the violence.
After finishing her studies, this young woman, who would not have been identified as a future president of an independent Kosovo, went to work as a police officer so she could help keep the peace and protect her community.  She worked closely with international troops.  She earned the respect of her colleagues, both on the frontlines and in the offices where decisions were made, and she earned the trust of her fellow citizens, men and women alike.
She rose through the ranks quickly, eventually helping lead the new Kosovo police force.  And then earlier this year, she became the first woman-elected president of Kosovo, and also the first woman-elected president anywhere in the Balkans.  Since then, she has shown consistent leadership and worked to bring her country together behind a program of good governance, rule of law, ethnic reconciliation, and regional stability.  She has also stood up for the rights and opportunities of Kosovo’s women.  And as she explained at a recent investment conference in Zagreb with women entrepreneurs, she understands the role that women must play in increasing regional prosperity and security.
Like so many women around the world, President Jahjaga endured the pain of war and was determined to secure the benefits of peace.  Kosovo is better off because she insisted on being part of the solution.  Our goal together should be to open that opportunity to women in every place where peace and stability are threatened so they too can contribute to lasting security for their communities and their countries.  That is what this national action plan is all about.  And that is now the mission and the redoubled purpose of our own government.  And it is the future of peacemaking.  There is so much to be done, and I know that many of you here who are studying at Georgetown have a future ahead of you of being among the peacemakers and keepers in government, in NGOs, in multilateral institutions, in our nation’s military, in academia.  We need you and we welcome your commitment to this great struggle of the 21st century, ensuring peace, equality, prosperity, and opportunity in the context of freedom and democracy for people everywhere.
Thank you for deciding to be part of the solution, and I now look forward to taking some questions about how we can chart this new approach together.  (Applause.)
Thank you.  (Applause.)
MODERATOR:  Secretary Clinton has agreed to take two questions.  And so we’ll begin with you.  Please introduce yourself and say where you’re from.
QUESTION:  Sure.  My name’s Emily Roskowski. I’m a second year Master of Science and Foreign Service student, and I’m originally from Maryland – Bel Air, Maryland, and I was wondering how the action plan will deal with the cultural, sensitive issues of including cultural norms and sensitivities within the plan, and how it might have an implementation mechanism that will – that might take into account any potential community backlash.
SECRETARY CLINTON:  I think that’s an excellent question, and of course, it’s something we think about all the time.  And it’s really along a spectrum of actions and reactions.  Of course, we understand that there are differences that are of historic and cultural importance in many places around the world.  And many of those we respect, and we try to be very sensitive to the legitimate concerns that people have about protecting what they value in their own societies.
But there are certain actions that are beyond any cultural norm.  Beating women is not cultural, it’s criminal, and it needs to be addressed and treated as such.  (Applause.)  And then there are those historic practices like female circumcision that have been around for centuries, or honor killings, which served a purpose in a prior time, that we believe we must address by demonstrating how counterproductive, how destructive they are of the very fabric of the society that is being affected by them.
So when you look at the work we did in Senegal, we pointed to the great difficulties women had bearing children.  Now, bearing children is a high priority.  So if you are doing something that you’ve inherited from centuries before that now, today, you know is destructive and undermining of an even higher priority, namely having children and producing the next generation, you begin the conversation not in an accusatory fashion but in a effort to try to have a dialogue about what works today that perhaps didn’t.  I mean, a lot of people, if you look at the series Mad Men, were smoking madly, until it became pretty irrefutable that doing so would shorten you life.  And then we learned second hand smoke might shorten other people’s lives.  Well, there are things we learn that can’t be viewed as somehow outside of the historical and even cultural framework.
So we are aware of the sensitivities, and what we try to do is, wherever possible, have a respectful dialogue.  The training and programmatic approaches that we support through USAID and other institutions, certainly attempts to do that.  But then there are certain areas where you cannot accommodate, you cannot be sensitive, you have to draw lines, and we are looking for how to do that.
Now in this area of women, peace, and security, we are acquiring a body of evidence about the roles that women play.  Women played a very critical role in ending the Northern Ireland troubles, in ending the civil wars in Central America, in ending the Liberian war that I just mentioned, in being part of peacemaking in other conflicts throughout the world.  And so we have both an argument as to it being an important goal, but we also have evidence that points to tactics and strategies about how you achieve that goal.  So I’m hopeful that we will get a broader discussion.
And finally, I would say that when people set their own goals, norms, and values, and then they violate them, it provides an opening for a discussion not only coming from the outside, but from within.  Certainly, the scenes that we’re seeing out of Egypt today should be first and foremost distressing to Egyptians and not to us or others before the Egyptian people themselves.  The promise, the beauty of the revolutionary aspirations that everyone watched unfold in Tahrir Square, the restraint of the security forces in how they responded, all of that was very promising, and it was held up by the Egyptian people – leaders and citizens alike – as what a new Egypt would look like.  The scenes of Coptic Christians protecting Muslims while praying, and then Muslims protecting Coptic Christians while praying was an Egyptian scene – not American or European or Western.  And so when countries are running afoul of their own best selves, when a great country with such a history as Egypt is seeing unfold before their eyes this kind of violence, then there needs to be a reaction from within.  And women’s voices need to be heard and women need to be protected as they assume a position at every table in the country to make decisions about the future.
So it’s – there’s no formula or guidebook that you can look at.  But those are some of the general principles by which we try to think through and do our work.  (Applause.)
MODERATOR:  One more – one more question.  Introduce yourself, please.
QUESTION:  I’m Mark Lehgan, and I’m on the faculty of the Master of Science and Foreign Service program, and I’m thankful that Dean Lancaster has asked me to be on the advisory board of the new institute.
I’ve got a question that was informed by being Ambassador CdeBaca’s predecessor heading the Human Trafficking Office at the State Department.  I saw there that prevention is as important as the activity afterwards, after the gender crime, the human rights abuses, the breakdown of the rule of law happens.  I was delighted to see your emphasis on prevention, getting women involved up front, and political participation.  As you roll out a presidential plan, I would imagine that the prevention matters would be the ones that would be hardest to maintain the momentum on for implementation.  What do you think you can do to look at that prevention side and make sure that sticks through the years following on to this plan?
SECRETARY CLINTON:  Great question, Ambassador.  And, obviously, it’s something that we work on a lot because what often happens – and it’s not just in international affairs; I mean it is also in our own domestic resource allocation.  Very often prevention gets short shrift because you deal with the crisis and then it’s a kind of circular argument, maybe we could have avoided the crisis if we’d actually spent more on prevention.  So it’s one of those conundrums that we face in policy across the board.  But certainly in this particular area of women, peace, and security, the more we can invest in prevention – and it is broadly defined.  There are programs which we think work.  There are interventions like the Global Cookstoves Alliance that can prevent perhaps more women from being assaulted or killed as they seek firewood.  There are programs that support NGOs and even other governments’ efforts to protect and empower women.
So we have to be smart about what we invest in, especially in these budgetary times but really any time we need to be.  And we also need the metrics, the measurable outcomes.  We have to be quite clear about this.  We can’t continue supporting programs because we know the people and we like them, or because they worked 10 years ago but they’re not working today.  So we have to be creative and innovative and very clear-eyed.
Now I do think we have some tools that we’re beginning to understand better how to use, and that’s cell phones and the internet.  Equipping women with cell phones so that they can get information in real time about matters that are important to them empowers them in ways that we couldn’t have imagined just a few short years ago.  Getting information to go to your area of trafficking, trying to get broader information about what to look out for, be aware of; don’t accept that nanny job or that factory job without really going to this source of information and trying to vet it.
There’s a lot of ways now, since cell phone usage is just exploding all over the world, that we can be smart about how we use technology to empower women to protect themselves.  I think that prevention is going to be a major pillar of this whole policy that we are developing, and we’re looking for good ideas, we’re looking for good outcomes.  And as part of the QDDR that I commissioned two years ago that we’re now implementing in the State Department and USAID, we have to be quicker on the evaluation.  That’s something that Raj Shah and Don Steinberg and their team at AID have really zeroed in on:  How do we get more real time information so we can support what works and, frankly, no longer support what doesn’t work, so that we can shift those scarce resources somewhere else.
I think that we know for sure that making changes in laws that give women an economic stake protects women.  It is a prevention strategy; so that if – since 60 to 70 percent of the small holder farmers in the world are women in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and many – in many places, particularly in Africa, if a woman’s husband dies, if her father dies, she cannot inherit the property that she has spent years working on and been the primary harvester of the crops.  Well, changing that gives women a status that protects them, to be honest, and gives them a stake that is recognizable.  If a woman shows up and says, “I own land in this province and I want to be part of helping to resolve this conflict,” that carries a higher status than if you show up and say I’m a market lady and I sell vegetables that somebody else grows.
So all of this is part of the cultural milieu that we have to understand better, and I think we’re getting smarter about it, and we hope that prevention will always be right up there with – among our other strategic priorities.
Thank you.  (Applause.)