Obama marks 'new era' at State Dept

by Frank James

Trying to make good on the promise of his campaign and inauguration speech to raise diplomacy's role in U.S. foreign policy, President Obama visited the State Department on his second full day in office where he proclaimed a "new era of American leadership" in international affairs.

The president joined Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at the State Department for the announcement of the new administration's emissaries to two of the world's most troubled regions. Former Sen. George Mitchell was named the administration's special envoy to Israel and the Palestinian Authority while Amb. Richard Holbrooke will become special representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan.

"My appearance today... underscores my commitment to the importance of diplomacy in renewing American leadership," Obama told an audience filled with career foreign service officials. "...Let there be no doubt about America's commitment to lead. We can no longer afford drift, and we can no longer afford delay, nor can we cede ground to those who seek destruction."

While Obama's visit was meant to serve as one more signal to the world that his administration represents a clean break with President Bush's which was often criticized for acting unilaterally and relying too much on U.S. military power, Obama was also sending a message to State Department employees who during the Bush years often saw their role usurped by the Defense Department.

"You are carrying on a vital task in the safety and security of the American people," Obama said. "And part of what we want to do is to make sure that everybody understands that the State Department is going to be absolutely critical to our success in the years to come and you, individually, are going to be critical to our success in the years to come."

The State Department visit also allowed Obama to forcefully weigh in publicly on the crisis in Gaza for the first time. Prior to his inauguration, Obama deferred to Bush on foreign policy issues, saying the U.S. could only have one voice at a time.

But on Thursday, he was free to articulate U.S. foreign policy as the one setting it. Regarding the conflict between Israel and Hamas, it appeared to differ little if any from Bush's approach.

"Let me be clear: America is committed to Israel's security. And we will always support Israel's right to defend itself against legitimate threats...," Obama said. "Going forward, the outline for a durable cease-fire is clear. Hamas must end its rocket fire. Israel will complete the withdrawal of its forces from Gaza." Like the Bush Administration, the United Nations and European governments, Obama called for Israel to open the Gaza border crossings so humanitarian groups could deliver aid to Palestinian non-combatants.

In turning to Mitchell and Holbrooke, Obama and Clinton were relying on two Democratic Party foreign policy stalwarts who achieved some of the Clinton Administration's greatest successes in international affairs.

Mitchell negotiated the 1998 Northern Ireland Peace Agreement which helped end decades of sectarian violence. Meanwhile, Holbrooke was a key mediator in the Dayton Agreement which ended nearly four years of conflict in Bosnia.

Mitchell acknowledged the difficulty of his mission but he said his experience in the Northern Ireland talks allowed him to see what was possible, even in seemingly insoluble situations.

"In the negotiations which led to that agreement, we had 700 days of failure and one day of success," Mitchell said. "For most of the time, progress was nonexistent or very slow. So I understand the feelings of those who may be discouraged about the Middle East... From my experience there, I formed a conviction that there is no such thing as a conflict that can't be ended. Conflicts are created, conducted and sustained by human beings. They can be ended by human beings."