Interview With Cheryl Casone of Fox Business Network
Interview
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of StateNew York, New YorkSeptember 9, 2011QUESTION: We’re back here live in front of the New York Stock Exchange. She was the junior senator from New York 10 years ago when the city was attacked, and now she is the Secretary of State. And I asked Hillary Clinton how do you balance protecting the country while at the same time protecting the U.S. economy. Listen in.
SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, I think we’ve made a lot of progress in the last 10 years. I always think there is room for improvement, so I think we always have to be honest and say, what can we do better? But I’m very proud of a lot of the actions and reforms that we’ve undertaken. I think there’s more to be done. I’ll be giving a speech about that in about an hour. But I agree with you, too, that the core of our strength and our leadership is right here at home. And what we have to do is make sure that we are keeping faith with the millions and millions of people who believe in our country, who want a better life, and who are ready to die and defend us. And I’ve worked with a lot of firefighters, a lot of police officers, a lot of guys and women in uniform on the military, and I mean they’re on the front lines, and the rest of us need to do our part. So I’m very proud of our country. I get to represent us around the world. But I always think that we’re Americans. We always can ask ourselves, what can we do better?
QUESTION: Well, I know you’re very proud of the country, as am I. At the same time, for the war on terror, we’ve spent in the last 10 years about $1.283 trillion, and we still have threats. We had one last night from the Middle East. It’s Pakistan, it’s Afghanistan, some say even parts of Egypt. Where are we in the Middle East? They are a big piece and a big threat to this country. How do you feel that we’re doing and where are we in the Middle East right now?
SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, first, Cheryl, I think it’s important to recognize that there will always be threats. I mean, if – we’re living in a globalized world, where all that we take advantage of here – instant communications, easy travel – is available to people with evil intentions. And unfortunately, that’s just a new reality that we have to accept. But at the same time, we are going to do everything we can to protect ourselves, to be vigilant, to make it clear that if somebody comes after us, we will never rest until we come after them. And that’s what we did. It took us 10 years; we finally got bin Ladin. And we got him because we never gave up, and we never said, “Oh, that was yesterday’s news.” No. You attack us, we’re going to get you.
So I guess my view on this is we’ve made improvements. What I worry about is our country needs to sort of stay in the game. We need to be on our toes. We need to be ready to do what’s necessary to get the economy going again. And obviously, the President laid out some very important ideas last night. We need to be aware of the fact that our leadership, our ability to respond and defend ourselves, really starts right here.
QUESTION: How confident are you in your conversations with the President about the safety of the country? And obviously, you’ve got to request a budget just like everyone else as the Administration. The country’s under great financial strain right now. Are you concerned that the budget at State might be in jeopardy?
SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, obviously, we have tough budgetary decisions to make, but the President is totally focused and committed on making sure, first and foremost, we’re safe. And we’re going to take a hard look at what we need to do. I’m working with the Congress in order to make sure that I have what I need, and obviously the other parts of our government do.
But yes, we’ve spent a lot of money, but we had a lot of work to do. And when I look back on all the changes we had to make after 9/11 – because I was part of that; I was doing legislation, I was advocating, I was working with my colleagues – we’ve done a lot of it, but I’m not satisfied. I don’t think anybody should be satisfied. But at the same time, I’m very proud of who we are, and we just have to keep going.
QUESTION: Final question: You were a New York State senator 10 years ago on 9/11, and New York City, I mean, this is 9 percent of the U.S. output. I mean, this is a big piece of the economic health of this country. What do you want to see, and what do you think the future of New York City is?
SECRETARY CLINTON: Oh, I am so bullish on New York. I am absolutely convinced that New York will remain not only the number one economic powerhouse in the world but the leading city in the world. I mean, look at what’s happened in 10 years. More people live in New York than lived in New York on 9/11. We’re rebuilding at Ground Zero. We’re going to be back in business around the site with the new buildings that’ll go up. People are attracted from around the world. The real estate market is still booming here. All of those are tremendous votes of confidence in New York and in [interruption of audio feed.]
Interview With Margaret Brennan of Bloomberg
InterviewHillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of StateNew York, New YorkSeptember 9, 2011
QUESTION: I am live here on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange with a very important guest, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, on hand as we commemorate the 10th anniversary of the tragedy of the September 11th attacks, commemorate that here on the floor of the exchange today – and an ominous turn in many ways. We have this credible terror threat.
SECRETARY CLINTON: Right.
QUESTION: What can you tell us about what’s happening right now?
SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, Margaret, it is a specific, credible, but unconfirmed threat. And we are taking every precaution. Obviously, once it was determined that we needed to, information was shared with state and local officials. You saw Mayor Bloomberg and Commissioner Kelly out.
And part of the reason for sharing the information is to enlist millions of eyes and ears. We want people to go about your daily lives, but be vigilant and remember that the Times Square bomber, so-called, was stopped because a food vendor saw something suspicious.
QUESTION: In so many ways, the financial community and economic security is a big part of that broader security picture.
SECRETARY CLINTON: Yes.
QUESTION: And we had the President give a jobs address last night – around the world, increased joblessness, high food prices. They’ve led to political instability. How are you trying to utilize economic diplomacy?
SECRETARY CLINTON: That’s a great question, and I am very focused on economic diplomacy. Now, there are some things that the State Department can do. Obviously, we promote American exports, we promote American jobs. I spend a lot of my time talking to leaders around the world about why American products are the best in the world and they should be purchased.
But we also are facing some very tough decisions here, Europe, and elsewhere. And we’re all going to have to recognize that there is no quick or easy way out of this. But we’re on a path. We have to stay on that path. And I think what the President said last night about a lot of what could be done right now will certainly contribute to moving us forward and getting us back to growth.
QUESTION: Now, how has – I mean, we’re talking in a week where we see U.S. bond yields go this record low, money going in to U.S. debt at the very same moment we have S&P downgrading the credit quality of this country, at least nominally. How has that hurt or inhibited or impacted the work you’re doing in terms of U.S. perception?
SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, I think first of all, the market has given a strong endorsement to the strength of the American economy and the stability of the American government, because – you’re right – I thought that the downgrade was basically irrelevant. It didn’t reflect at all the fundamentals or the strength of our economic and political system. So with money flooding in, people are voting in a very clear way for American economic leadership.
At the same time, our political system is under scrutiny. We have to pull together. We can’t be ideologically divided so that people are only staring at each other across this political chasm. We have to pull together, we have to make some decisions. It was only 10 years ago we had a balanced budget. We had a surplus. We had four years of a surplus. We can do this again, but everybody’s going to have to give a little. That’s the way political systems in a democracy are supposed to work. And I worry that some people think that we have no basis for compromise; it’s either my way or the highway. That is not how you solve problems, and I want to see people moving, getting together, as the President called for last night.
QUESTION: And the President called for and really upped the ante for the super committee to come up with new ways to find methods of austerity to cut back here. How has that atmosphere of cutbacks in discretionary funding inhibited what you can do through economic diplomacy?
SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, obviously, there are some big opportunities that we have now in the Middle East and North Africa with the so-called Arab Awakening that we may not be able to deliver on the way I would like to see. But we, like every part of our government, are going to have to make some tough decisions. And so every day, I try to balance what’s in our real interests and how can we make sure we’re moving in the right direction. Because a lot of what I do is not about today or tomorrow. It’s about five years, 10 years, 15 years down the road. So it’s going to be tough. I’m not going to stand here and tell you any different. But I think if we could come to some political resolution, we’ll be able to work all this through.
QUESTION: You mentioned the Arab Awakening. Specifically with Libya, the global oil markets want to know when Libya’s oil production, 1.5 million barrels a day, is going to get back on to the market. How is the U.S. trying to help that get done?
SECRETARY CLINTON: We are working very hard with the Transitional National Council. I met with them last week in Paris. We are prepared, along with a lot of our other partners, both in Europe and in the Gulf, to assist them in getting back up online. Obviously, there is still some fighting going on in some parts of Libya, but other parts are secure enough that we can begin this process of trying to get oil back onto the market. We are working to make sure we lift the sanctions that were imposed on the Qadhafi regime so that the new leadership of Libya will not be held back from trying to get the oil moving. So we’re making progress on that.
QUESTION: Do you expect oil to be back on the market within the next few weeks or a month?
SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, I don’t – I’m not an oil expert, so I don't want to be hazarding an opinion. I don’t know what the damage was. I don't know what other kinds of steps will have to be taken. But I can assure you and I can assure all your viewers we are 100 percent committed to doing everything we can to help the TNC get up and going in the oil markets again.
QUESTION: Finally, I want to ask you about, as you just mentioned, freeing up assets for the Libyan regime. One and a half billion given the okay by the United Nations, but a lot of those assets are tied up, hard to get to. What kind of progress are we making there, and what do you want to hold onto as leverage with this new government?
SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, we’re making progress. Ironically, the Qadhafi regime used to print their money in England, so the British have just been able to release hundreds of millions of dollars of banknotes that are either already or on their way to Libya. Every country that had frozen assets is working through (inaudible) legal system, working through the UN sanctions regime, to free up as much as possible as quickly as possible. It does belong to the Libyan people.
At the same time, I am certainly expressing very clearly what our expectations are. We want transparency. We want accountability for the money that goes back in. We want financial systems established that can be audited and understood not only by us but by the Libyan people themselves. So there’s some work to be done, but I have found the Transitional National Council to be very receptive. And the finance minister, Mr. Tarhouni, had been, for quite a number of years since he was in exile, a business professor at the University of Washington.
QUESTION: That’s right. We talked to him. Forty years in the U.S., I believe.
SECRETARY CLINTON: Yeah. Forty years. And so he is just working extremely hard. I don't know that the man has slept in months. So there are some very good people. But like, I mean, it’s understandable; they don’t have yet the critical mass, so we’re trying to offer expertise. The UN, others are, as well. I think given the fact they started from a standstill, there were no institutions, no political system to hang onto because of what Qadhafi had done to Libya, they’ve made a lot of progress. But they are the first to tell you they have a long way to go.
QUESTION: Madam Secretary, it’s wonderful to speak with you.
SECRETARY CLINTON: Good to see you, too.
QUESTION: Thank you so much for making time for us today.
SECRETARY CLINTON: Thank you so much. My pleasure.
