Clinton does well in foreign policy

Tuesday, November 2, 2010
The Daily Targum (Rutgers Univ., USA)
Editorial

While most politicians in the United States have in the past few weeks almost entirely concentrated on the midterm elections, one stateswoman has actually been doing her job. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was thousands of miles away from American shores and its issues on Election Day, somewhat prompting critics to switch their attention to international matters. We support her decision to stay away from domestic campaigns at a time when everyone else seems to have forgotten their dedication to the voters.

When Clinton could have been campaigning for her fellow Democrats, she decided to focus on her job as secretary of state. In contrast with her husband and former president, who traveled to more than 100 election events, the secretary of state has been focusing on foreign policy. According to the Telegraph, Clinton met with 50 victims of human trafficking on Saturday in Siem Reap, Cambodia. She promised American support to the women who were aged between 17 and 23. Clinton received an emotional response from one woman who had been held as a prostitute for more than two years. "You motivate me," she said.

Clinton also addressed the S-21 prison where around 16,000 prisoners were held and tortured under the Khmer Rouge regime in the 1970s.

"Countries that are held prisoner to their pasts can never break those chains and build the kind of future that their children deserve," Clinton said. "Although I am well aware the work of the tribunal is painful, it is necessary to ensure a lasting peace."

The secretary of state is simply doing her job. The majority of other U.S. politicians have so far only concentrated on the election. Securing seats in Congress has more than overshadowed the need to act as a coherent political player in the international system. President Barack Obama, for example, has made his rounds all across the nation. In the final 72 hours, his precisely calculated route included Philadelphia, Bridgeport, Conn., Chicago and Cleveland — cities part of the larger swing states.

The secretary of state's two-week tour of Asia and the Pacific Rim includes visits to Vietnam, Cambodia, China, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand and Australia.

The midterm elections are thankfully over, and citizens can return to viewing the real issues rather than political campaigns backed by empty promises and insults. Clinton understood this issue and stayed away from U.S. shores. She did and is doing her job while many others have simply stood by their colleagues, attempting to secure their seats for a few more years.