Clinton Moves to Widen Role of State Dept.

Hilary Clinton’s antics with respect to US health care policy set that issue back for 2 decades. Now she's regarded to be the next Secretary Of State. It is also expected that she will have the most powerful State Department in history.

What will she do? Will she behave like a President Once-Removed? Where will her penchant for control lead the US? Will it negatively impact trade? Will she get us into a war? Both are possible.

She bears watching, for sure. But there are bright spots:

"For years, some Pentagon officials have complained that jobs like the economic reconstruction in Afghanistan and Iraq have been added to the military’s burden when they could have been handled by a robust Foreign Service.

“The Pentagon would like to turn functionality over to civilian resources, but the resources are not there,” the official said. “We’re looking to have a State Department that has what it needs.”

These claims by the military are true. They are trained to fight, less so to rebuild. As a result, despite Bush's best efforts (meaning a huge outlay of cash to contractors), Iraq has been seriously left in the lurch regarding reconstruction. The Bush Administration has overseen nothing but waste and fraud regarding rebuilding Iraq, and in so doing, lost a huge opportunity in making America appear to be the bright spot that we really are. No American wants to see Iraqis living in squalor, and the tax dollars of American citizens have been spent to see that they don't; however, due to lack of oversight, the efforts have gone for naught. If Clinton's State Department fixes this, it'll be a huge step in the right direction.

But on the downside:

"Mrs. Clinton’s push for a more vigorous economic team, one of her advisers said, stems from her conviction that the State Department needs to play a part in the recovery from the global financial crisis. Economic issues also underpin some of the most important diplomatic relationships, notably with China."

My read of this is that Clinton will lock horns with domestic economic policy people. While it may be reasonable for her to be somewhat involved in the international aspects of the monetary crisis, particularly negotiations, this is really more the role of other branches of the government, who deal daily with these matters. For the State Department to become involved in a primary role rather than supportive will be an overlapping of service, and counter-productive as the war over political territory is waged.

But if anyone thinks that Clinton will limit her jurisdiction, they don't know the Clintons. Their hunger for power is like an unchecked virus. So giving Hilary Clinton such a powerful position and then handing her additional money with which to expand is like lighting a fuse on a stick of dynamite and then being surprised when there is an explosion (and damage). Our only hope is that stick of dynamite can control when (and if) it decides to explode.

Again, she bears watching.

Sources:
Clinton Moves to Widen Role of State Dept. - NYTimes.com