Hillary's Dubious Diplomatic Skills

Ever since the 2008 Democratic primary battle there have been certain people who still wish there were some way to turn back time and put Hillary Clinton in as the winner. (And after more than two years of disappointments for some on the far Left, their numbers may be growing, including some members of my family.) But even still, Secretary of State is a very important, high profile position where a figure such as Clinton could flex her diplomatic muscle. So how is she doing?

While she consistently gets rave reviews from some corners, her appearance this week in Pakistan might cast some doubt on the evaluation of those skills. Ever since Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai demanded an end to air strikes on civilian residences in his country to reduce collateral damage, tensions have been mounting. Clinton’s response – a video clip of which is now making the rounds of every cable news show – could certainly have been phrased a bit better.

“We’re going to continue to do everything we can to express our deep regret when a terrible incident occurs, and civilians are injured or killed,” said Clinton.

Seriously? This did not appear to be an ad hoc response to a reporter’s question, but part of the prepared speech. Somebody had to write and approve that text. Why not just come out and say, “While we know you’re upset, I want to assure you that as we continue to blow up women and children in your country we’re going to feel really, really bad about it.”

Look, I can see where Clinton was trying to go with this, and she does make a valid point. In any military activity such as the current battles in Afghanistan, where air strikes from war planes and drones in remote areas are a key component of the overall strategy, regrettable incidents like the one in question are going to happen from time to time no matter how careful we are. Recognizing that fact and educating people about the realities, both at home and abroad, is the right thing to do. But not just at that particular place and time.

A better approach might have been to simply stress the fact that we already take extensive precautions to avoid such incidents, and after the recent events, are reviewing procedures which will further limit them in the future. The situation is tense enough over there right now and we can’t afford any rookie mistakes fanning the flames further. Otherwise our Secretary of State might find herself actually ducking and weaving on the tarmac as she thought she did in Bosnia.