Hillary Clinton, Secretary to the Predictable

"For me, consultation is not a catch-word. It's a commitment." So began (after the usual formalities and mutual flatteries from ex-senator to sitting senators) Hillary Clinton's confirmation hearing before the Foreign Relations Committee this morning: with a swipe at the Bush administration. One of many, it turns out.

As Secretary of State, Clinton made clear, she intends to put policy back in foreign policy.

“Foreign policy must be based on a marriage of principles and pragmatism, not rigid ideology, on facts and evidence, not emotion or prejudice,” Clinton said. She could begin by applying those principles to Palestine and Israel. But she won't: the one ideological constant in America's foreign policy in the Middle East is the Israel-first approach (as opposed to Israel on an equal footing with her neighbors, when it comes to mediating and negotiating) that has undermined American credibility as an honest broker and parked every American peace initiative since Ronald Reagan into a dead end (usually landscaped by Israel).

Despite the bombs still falling on Gaza, despite America's virtual absence from any meaningful Arab-Israeli peace initiative of late (Turkey has been more active and effective, judging from its mediation of Syrian-Israeli talks), despite the relegation of the United States to glamorized sidelines, Clinton said nothing that suggests a break from that ideological myopia.

Don't get me wrong. Hillary Clinton blind would be a vast improvement on Condoleezza Rice's 20/20. But don't expect Clinton suddenly to log frequent-flier miles to the Middle East with a blueprint for a Palestinian-Israeli peace dangling from anything like an arsenal of carrots and sticks. The necessary blueprint is basic enough: end the Israeli settlements in the West Bank, demolish that West Bank wall, or move it back to Israeli territory, agree to a fully independent Palestinian state (no demeaning compromises, no half-way measures, no "period of autonomy" or prohibition of a military), and find a compromise on refugees. But on every single one of those conditions, Clinton (and Barack Obama) are adopting the old standard: check with Israel first.

That's not the way to a breakthrough.

Here's something else I found interesting in her opening remarks, a nearly half-hour soliloquy. She mentioned al-Qaeda just once. The Taliban: once. Pakistan: three times. Afghanistan: four times. In every case the references were general.

But terrorism? Ah, now there's a winner: seven references, back to the same old "root out terrorism" bromides we've been hearing for eight years, the bromides that have become standard fare now, whoever is in power, the way fighting communism was the lingua franca of both parties' platforms for four decades after World War II.

No surprises here. I'm fascinated by Barack Obama and the prospects of his presidency. But his foreign policy was never part of the fascination, his Middle East policy even less so. His nomination of Clinton at the Department of State confirmed it. Clinton's confirmation hearing today confirmed that confirmation, if nothing else.

See Also:

• Hillary Clinton's Foreign Relations Confirmation Hearing Video (Complete)
• Hillary Clinton's Opening Statement
• Why Hillary Clinton Would Make a Lousy Secretary of State
• Hillary Clinton's Middle East Policy
• This Day in Middle East History