Exam for Mrs. Clinton

The former First Lady spoke the language of Russian diplomats

An obvious thought came to mind for many people who listened to Hillary Clinton’s statements during the Senate confirmation hearings for the post of Secretary of State. “I have already heard all of this somewhere.” Indeed, she used phrases that have been repeatedly uttered before, but only in Russian.

During the eight years of George W. Bush’s presidency, Washington clearly tried to get the world used to the concept that U.S. foreign policy is based on the following principle, “If you do not agree with our position, then we’re coming for you.” And they didn’t just make verbal threats of using force against dissidents, but actually conducted combat operations.

In the meantime, other countries urged the U.S. to remember that the world consists of independent countries with absolutely equal rights. But Republicans, led by George W. Bush, pretended not to hear them. However, Democrats not only listened, but also drew conclusions. As a result, it partially helped Barack Obama gain the necessary number of votes to win the presidential election.

Hillary Clinton also participated in the primary race, although she dropped out in the semi-finals. But thanks to Obama, she got the chance to fulfill the promises she made to her supporters during the pre-election discussions. She got an offer to become the U.S. Secretary of State. And on Thursday, the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations will hold the confirmation hearing. Shortly prior to that, Clinton spoke very frankly to the committee’s members. After all, afterwards many will be able to compare her promises in the Senate to her actual actions.

Based on what Senators told reporters after Clinton’s performance, former first lady’s “audition” went well. The most senior Republican, Richard Lugar, praised Mrs. Clinton, saying that her presence at the highest diplomatic posts may open new opportunities for America.

What did the almost-U.S.-Secretary-of-State promise members of the Senate Committee? First of all, she announced that the new U.S. President administration’s foreign policy will place greater emphasis on diplomacy rather than military force. Clinton stated that, “Our foreign policy has gotten way out of balance, and that the Pentagon got too big at State Department’s expense.”

Clinton intends to change this relationship in favor of American diplomats, with the support of Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, whom Clinton called a clear-thinking leader. Apparently, she was hinting that he will have to transfer some of his power to the Secretary of State. Obviously, this was one of the conditions on which Clinton agreed to lead American diplomacy on Obama’s team.

Clinton continued to explain her plan of action to members of the Senate committee saying, “America cannot solve the most pressing problems on our own, and the world cannot solve them without America.” In her opinion, “The best way to advance America’s interests in reducing global threats and seizing global opportunities is to design and implement global solutions.”

At exactly this moment, the people present in the audience definitely should have experienced a sense of déjà vu. Moreover, with each succeeding statement by Clinton this sensation kept increasing. Only before, the previous phrases were spoken by a male voice rather than female. To be exact, they were spoken by Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov. For example, here is what he said about global solutions mentioned by Clinton, “The development of a collective approach to pressing common problems would lead us to the desired ultimate goal – greater trust.”

Clinton spoke about trust too. She mentioned it while discussing the issue of disarmament. Her opinion was that this issue has been significantly degraded during George W. Bush’s time. Clinton also said that she will bring in more arms control experts to the State Department. And here is what Sergey Lavrov said at the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva in February of last year, “We will not allow to draw us into a costly confrontation, including a new arms race detrimental to the internal development of the country. That is why we favor maintaining continuity in the process of disarmament and arms control.”

Hillary Clinton’s statements continued to match Sergei Lavrov’s up until the end of the Senate hearings. However, any real benefit of this déjà vu will only appear if in the future Russian and American diplomats will be able to respond to each other by saying, “I think so, too.”