Secretary Clinton to Travel to London and Paris
Press Statement
Acting Deputy Spokesman
Secretary of State Clinton will accompany President Obama to London on May 24 for the first part of his state visit to the United Kingdom. This trip is a sign of the strength of the special relationship between our two countries, and of the United States’ enduring commitment to our allies and partners in Europe. Secretary Clinton will also meet with Foreign Secretary Hague while in London.
Secretary Clinton will then travel to Paris, France, to preside over the 50th Anniversary of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Ministerial Council Meeting, May 25-26. Events will include the OECD’s 50th Anniversary Commemoration, at which the Secretary will deliver the opening address in the presence of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan; several signing and adoption ceremonies; and a plenary session on “A New Paradigm for Development.” The Commemoration will be live-streamed at www.oecd.org/oecdweek.
Secretary Clinton will also deliver keynote remarks in support of the launch of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) Global Partnership for Girls’ and Women’s Education. The Global Partnership will bring together companies, non-governmental organizations, and governments to develop innovative programs to deliver education to women and girls. The event will be live-streamed on Thursday, May 26 at 8:00 am (EST) at www.unesco.org.
So she won’t be going to Pakistan for awhile, then?
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I don’t think there will be much notice about that. She may go there from Paris. They won’t publicize that much before she arrives in Islamabad.
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From the commentary I am hearing there is a LOT of work to be done by the advance team before she goes to Pakistan. (This trip to Europe was planned long ago, N.B. She was going to London with Obama from the beginning of planning for that trip. When I first heard he was going, it was with her.)
As far as Pakistan is concerned, she won’t be going until there are guarantees of deliverables that she will finalize, I guess with signed agreements, MOUs, something like that. She is not going to go and then come home with nothing from them.
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Senator Kerry (i.e. The Man Who’s Campaigning to be Secretary of State) was just there, so I guess they’ve got the security thing under control as much as it can be.
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Well, he was phase one. Phase two is the new special envoy Grossman and his team, and security is large among the issues he is going to address.
Security is nowhere NEAR under control. Again I refer to my intellectual crush.
Read more.
Ths secret services there are the team her security has to work with. They are not trustworthy and a visit from John Kerry would not prove ther are. They are after a bigger fish. I would not let Kerry’s trip lull me into complacency about this trip.
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That’s what I meant by “as much as it can be.” Every variable that is ours to control is locked down tight. Remember her heavier security presence in Rome, a place not exactly known as a terrorist hub. If that’s what’s visible, the unseen aspects are increased exponentially more than that, I’m positive. The problem with Pakistan is that there is so much that is questionable at best and also not ours to control. It’s like trying to build a fort except that only some of the building blocks are granite. Others are wood and a few are Jello, but you have to find a way to use them.
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No, a few of the building blocks are bombs, disguised as granite. Nothing as benign as jello. They have intent.
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I’m not sure the Pakistani government, including whatever jihadist elements that inhabit it, would want to be all that brazen. Taking down OBL also proved to all of Pakistan how scary the US can be. Think about it. We had a surgical strike force take someone out within 100 miles of their capital and they were none the wiser until it was pretty much over. If I were a Pakistani citizen, involved in government or not, I would be absolutely terrified of the US right now. Far more afraid than angry.
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I’ve thought about it. Jihadists are not afraid of us or of anything. They do not necessarily feel loyalty to Pakistan. You are talking about normal Pakistanis. Jihadists are not normal Pakistanis.
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No but those within the government who, while not actually being jihadists themselves, have some ties or sympathies in that area might not be so anxious to have things start exploding. The ones with power who are not true believers in the cause could advise their contacts that hostility to visiting dignitaries is a very bad idea. Besides Al Qaeda has a major hierarchy shuffle to preside over. A disordered transition could wreck them from within.
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Sen Kerry is jocking for the position way tooo hard in my opinon. There was something written where the whitehouse and state department were not to happen with his joint statements in Pakistan. He needs to chill out there is another year and a half to go.
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I know! He’s done everything but print up campaign buttons! I get the feeling that he’d like to push Secretary Clinton into early retirement, if he could. He’s wanted that position all along. He made that pretty clear when he was recommending reading material to Hillary around the time of/during her confirmation.
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The guy is a pompous jerk, figures he would be an early Obama supporter. It takes one to know one.
The administration was not amused when he meddled in Pakistan.
http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2011/05/clinton-vs-kerry-on-pakistan.html
Same for Carter, who has been a thorn on the side of every president who came after him:
The performance of President Carter and his delegation in N. Korea this week was either shameful or fatuous…or both…and exemplifies why Carter had no…zero…USG support going in, and even less coming out, per an alleged eye witness account of Sec. St. Clinton at the morning meeting the other day:
“Do you want to meet with Carter?” Clinton is looking at papers, and just says “No.” Then she pauses, looks up and adds, “HELL no!!!”
LOL!!!!
http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2011/05/17/state_department_snubs_the_elders
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LOL!!!! I posted that one on Facebook last night. I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall! “HELL no!”
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I would have liked to have seen the look on her face when she said it!! LOL!!!
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Me too! Three cheers for the seldom seen Silly Hillary!
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I like the shuffling papers part. She’s never satisfied with the arrangement of papers.
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Such a perfectionist (in such an imperfect ad… never mind).
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😀 That’s why she’s there.
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To be a human collator?
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To perfect. It’s hard.
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Clearly he is not observant. Richardson thought he had a sure shot at SOS, too. Under the bus with him!
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He’s walking around making statements like he’s President or Secretary of State when he’s neither. That alone should have the administration annoyed.
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Hillary, I love you! But please could you came after I am at Heathrow?? I would like to catch my flight back home. Especially when Obama is with you! Thanks!! 🙂
Btw…I get used to it that she always comes to London when I am gone.
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Katie Couric will be interviewing Hillary today as her last interview at night news. It should air today.
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where can I watch it? I’m sorry, but I’m not a KC fan and don’t know what chanel her show is at!I’ll watch it to see hillary obviously!Is it 6:30pm ET?
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Yes it is 6:30 ET I beleive CBS
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