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Comme d’habitude, Secretary Clinton reached out to the people of Morocco during her “spare” time. Here are the transcripts of two television interviews she somehow squeezed into her two busy days there. (Sometimes I wonder if she secretly has a clone.)

Interview With Fouad Arif of Al-Aoula Television

Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State
Marakech, Morocco
November 3, 2009

QUESTION: First of all, on behalf of the Moroccan viewers, Madame Secretary of State, I would like to thank you very much, despite a busy week and a very heavy schedule. My first question is during the past 10 years, His Majesty the King Mohammed VI has initiated reforms across the board – social, economic, human rights, and more specifically, women’s rights.

SECRETARY CLINTON: Yes.

QUESTION: I would like to have your take on these changes that have been taking place in Morocco.

SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, first let me say I am delighted to speak with you. I always enjoy my visits to Morocco. I was here 10 years ago and I have very fond memories of that trip and a prior trip. So for me, this is a special privilege. And I wanted to express my appreciation, as I did when I met with His Majesty King Mohammed VI, for the changes that he is instituting and that under his leadership the Government of Morocco is following through on.

I think the changes are important. I particularly applaud the new freedoms for women. It has enhanced the cooperation and the participation that women have been able to show. I know in recent local elections more than 3,000 women were elected. I think it will make Morocco a stronger country. The more you involve the citizens, the more you empower citizens to make responsible decisions, the stronger Morocco will be.

QUESTION: Madame Secretary, as you know, Morocco and the United States are two countries tied by a free trade agreement, which is, by the way, the only one with an African country. But how can the two countries combine their efforts so that there – it has more economic ties?

SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, of course, we’re very proud that our relationship with Morocco goes back more than 220 years, our longest relationship in the world that is unbroken by any kind of difficulty. And the recent free trade agreement, which I was privileged to vote for when I was a senator from New York, is a modern example of this very deep and broad relationship.

I think that the significance of it is, as you say, the first free trade agreement with any country in Africa on a bilateral basis, a recognition that Morocco’s economy is growing and the United States wants to invest, and a platform for further work that we must do together.

QUESTION: Yesterday, Madame Secretary, you reaffirmed that there is no change in the Obama Administration’s position as far as the Moroccan autonomy plan in the Sahara is concerned. Would you like please to elaborate some more?

SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, this is a plan, as you know, that originated in the Clinton Administration. It was reaffirmed in the Bush Administration and it remains the policy of the United States in the Obama Administration. Now, we are supporting the United Nations process because we think that if there can be a peaceful resolution to the difficulties that exist with your neighbors, both to the east and to the south and the west, that is in everyone’s interest.

But because of our long relationship, we are very aware of how challenging the circumstances are. And I don’t want anyone in the region or elsewhere to have any doubt about our policy, which remains the same.

QUESTION: President Obama has more than once called for a renewed and a new beginning with the Islamic world. How can Morocco, with its longstanding tradition of coexistence and tolerance, help in this regard? And how do you envision the relations of Morocco and the United States in light of the Cairo speech?

SECRETARY CLINTON: That’s an excellent question because I think that Morocco is especially well positioned to take a leadership role in fulfilling the call for greater cooperation and understanding that President Obama set forth in his Cairo speech. In fact, the President has reached out to His Majesty King Mohammed VI to ask that the King lead one of the interfaith dialogue working groups because of the history of toleration and interfaith cooperation that exists in Morocco. We are looking to Morocco as a model in many areas, and we think in this area of greater understanding between the United States and the Muslim world, Morocco can help lead the way.

QUESTION: How can both countries again combine efforts to advance the peace process towards a two-state solution?

SECRETARY CLINTON: I think by continuing the very helpful support for the process, recognizing how difficult it is for the parties to do this solely on their own, that they need other countries and leaders like His Majesty to be very much pushing and prodding the process along, and I think refraining from inflammatory comments that sometimes come from others in the region, which unfortunately just get everyone agitated and stall the process.

This is very difficult work. It’s an intensely time-consuming effort. The President has evidenced great sincerity and commitment, but we know that you have to build on that by the painstaking outreach to both. And we would welcome and seek the active support of others.

QUESTION: We are going to move a little bit away from the Near East. I would like to ask you a question about the Maghreb region and its neighborhood. This region is facing several challenges, not least of which the economic ones which are made now more problematic because of the borders – Moroccan-Algerian borders are closed for the time being, and also because of the al-Qaida in the Maghreb, which is causing lots of problems. What is your take on this situation, and how can we move to the more positive path?

SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, we are grateful for our close cooperation with Morocco and with other countries in the Maghreb on counterterrorism, on law enforcement, on mutual cooperation against al-Qaida and other terrorist groups, against drug traffickers and human traffickers. So we are committed to working with you and other nations to help you defend yourself and to create a more positive atmosphere.

But we also hope that there can be greater regional understanding and cooperation across borders, opening up borders, economic cooperation which would benefit – if you look across North Africa through the Maghreb, there is such an opportunity to build a region of economic success. And that requires political discussion and consultation, so we would encourage our friends, certainly Morocco and others, to see how possible that might be and not to be discouraged by the difficulty at starting such a political consultation.

QUESTION: Madame Secretary, I would like to thank you very much on behalf of the Moroccan viewers again. Thank you very much.

SECRETARY CLINTON: Thank you. Great to be back here. Thank you.

Interview With Michel Ghandour of Al Hurra Television

Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State
Marakech, Morocco
November 3, 2009

QUESTION: Madame Secretary, first, thank you for your time. You have met yesterday with Arab foreign ministers. Were you able to convince them to take some gestures toward Israel?

SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, we had a very constructive meeting yesterday. I have pledged to consult with my counterparts, and I try to keep them informed as to what we are doing. I think there was an opportunity at our meeting to explain better how we saw the current situation with respect to the resumption of negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. I was able to clearly answer questions about what is the Israeli offer on no new settlement activity. And we talked about how important it was for President Abbas to continue his leadership and his commitment to the two-state solution – something that he had first stated back in 1972. So we had a very broad-ranging discussion.

But ultimately, I asked for their continuing support for the process, and I asked them to look for ways that they can demonstrate that support both to the Palestinians and to the Israelis.

QUESTION: In the Arab world, they are saying that the U.S. Administration started by criticizing Israel and asking it to – for a settlement freeze, and ended by praising Prime Minister Netanyahu after he denied the American calls. What can you answer?

SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, first of all, I think President Obama has demonstrated his commitment and sincerity in pursuing a comprehensive peace that includes a two-state solution.

Secondly, both I and Senator Mitchell, our special envoy, have worked constantly since President Obama became our president to reach out not only to the Israelis and the Palestinians, but to the larger region and the world, about everyone working toward this goal.

Thirdly, I believe it’s important to recognize the positive steps that either side takes. That’s why I have been very strongly in favor of what the Palestinians have done on security. And I have done that publicly and privately, not only with them, of course, but with the Israelis and the Arab nations. Because when people do things which advance the cause of a two-state solution, they should be recognized.

Now, when we called under President Obama’s leadership for an end to settlement activity, it was a restatement of American policy and a recommitment to the Obama Administration’s very strong conviction that settlement activity is not legitimate. The President said that in New York.

What the Israeli Government has offered would end all settlement activity that would be going forward. It would end permits, it would end approvals, it would end expropriation of land. It is not at all everything we would want, but for that government to do anything is unprecedented.

So I think that the foreign ministers from Arab nations understood. I showed them how it would work. Now, it is not what anybody would want, but when you negotiate, very often you start off with the maximum position but you try to figure out where you can realistically end up.

What I want is a discussion between the parties on the final status issues – the ’67 borders, the refugees, Jerusalem, everything that needs to be resolved. Anything which moves us toward the resumption of negotiations and closer to our goal of a two-state solution, I am going to say is a positive development.

QUESTION: Do you expect resuming negotiations in the near future?

SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, we are pushing very hard for such a resumption to occur. But as I have also said, I’m a very patient and persistent person. I know how difficult this is for everyone. And yet I believe it is so much in the interests of both the Palestinians and the Israelis that I am very hopeful we’re going to see that resumption occur.

QUESTION: Last question on the peace process side. Saeb Erekat has said if America cannot get Israel to implement a settlement freeze, what chance do Palestinians have of reaching agreement with Israel on permanent status issues? Can you give the Palestinians and the Arab states guarantees regarding these issues?

SECRETARY CLINTON: There have been numerous peace negotiations between the Palestinians and the Israelis. I know very well what happened in the 1990s with my husband and Yasser Arafat, how close everyone got. And there was no demand or expectation that settlements would be dealt with before the entire negotiation. After my husband’s administration, I know what Prime Minister Sharon and Prime Minister Olmert were talking about with President Abbas and his negotiating team, and there was no demand about settlements. Everyone believed that when the borders of a new state were set, the settlement issue would take care of itself.

So President Obama has gotten more before negotiations ever started out of Israel than anybody has ever gotten, more than was ever asked for before. So I think everyone should take a deep breath and say, look, what is our goal here? Is our goal to end a few hundred settlements or a few thousand more units? Or is our goal a Palestinian state? And I think if we keep that in mind, we’ve actually made some progress along that way, even though not everybody is satisfied with it. But nevertheless, do we want to say, oh, well, that’s not good enough?

Michel, if there had been a final agreement at Camp David, there would have been no more settlements. The capital of a new state would have been in East Jerusalem. And we were so close, but we didn’t achieve it. So now we are here talking about what we talked about 10 years ago. I want to end the talk. I want to see Israel have the security it needs. I want to see the Palestinian people have the state they deserve.

QUESTION: On Iran, Iran has expressed its readiness for a third meeting with the P5+1 in Geneva to discuss how – or to buy uranium from the international community. Are you ready, first, to attend this meeting, the third meeting with Iran, and to sell Iran uranium?

SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, the P5+1, which are the group of nations negotiating with Iran, have said that they were willing for another meeting. I am sure that the United States will attend. We are waiting for an answer to the offer that was made by the United States and Russia and China and France and the United Kingdom and Germany and the European Union. We believe Iran should accept the offer that was made, and we are hoping that it does so.

QUESTION: On Lebanon, the Lebanese leaders have been trying to form a new government since six or seven months, and they failed. Some leaders are blaming Iran and Syria. How do you view the situation in Lebanon?

SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, the situation in Lebanon is distressing, and I think it’s time for the people and leadership of Lebanon to stand up for Lebanon, not to stand up for any foreign influence or any other outside concern. And they should put personal interests or personal ambition behind the interests of the entire nation and form a government that represents the full diversity of Lebanon so that decisions can be made that will improve the future for Lebanon.

QUESTION: Last question, Madame Secretary, on Syria. After months of engagement with Syria, how do you assess the dialogue with Damascus? Are you planning to visit Syria in the near future?

SECRETARY CLINTON: I have no plans to visit Syria in the near future, but I do want to see changes in Syrian behavior and actions. We have, as you know, engaged in diplomacy with Syria on a number of issues. But the jury is out as to how Syria intends to respond. We are hoping for a positive response, and we will continue to try to achieve that. But it can’t be just talk. There has to be action as well.

QUESTION: Thank you, Madame Secretary.

SECRETARY CLINTON: Thank you very much.

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Everywhere she goes, the Secretary of State holds a Meet-and-Greet with Embassy personnel and their families. These are warm, festive, familiar affairs. Here are her remarks today to the folks at our embassy in Marrakech.

Remarks at Embassy Meet and Greet
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State
Marrakech, Morocco
November 3, 2009

SECRETARY CLINTON: Thank you all. Thank you very, very much for those really kind remarks, Ambassador. It’s a delight to be here with both Sam and Sylvia who pursue whatever objective or responsibility they are given with such passion and incredible commitment, and it’s wonderful to see you in this new position. I also want to recognize the consul general who is here, Elisabeth Millard. There are so many people who have made this trip possible, which I am very grateful for, and I am delighted that we have many of you from our posts in Rabat and Casablanca. Who’s here from Rabat? Oh, big Rabat group. And who’s here from Casablanca? Excellent.

Well, it is exciting to see you all, and you’re aware of the fact that you are the stewards of our nation’s longest diplomatic relationship going back over 220 years. And after a statement like that, I am tempted to say please don’t mess it up – no. (Laughter.) It is exciting for me to be back in Morocco, especially for this important forum, both because our bilateral relationship is critically important to us. It’s not just the history; it’s what we are doing today and what we hope to do in the future. And it is also because of the sponsorship of this forum which is an important statement about how we bring the region together to pursue some common goals.

The emphasis that we’re placing on both diplomacy and development is an important statement of our understanding of what we need to be doing, that we need to be, of course, reaching out with the very best we have, which includes all of you, to develop those relationships, and we need to be working in partnership on the development of the people of this country as well.

Morocco is one of the 10 pilot countries for the new country assistance strategy. It’s a whole-of-government approach to implementing foreign assistance. And I know that the Millennium Challenge Account is alive and well – is anyone here working on the MCA – with Morocco’s $700 million commitment which we are enthusiastic about and will be working to make sure it produces results.

We also would be remiss in not recognizing that Morocco is home to our second largest Peace Corps operation. Anybody here from the Peace Corps? (Applause.) And I have to recognize – I just learned about this last night – Muriel Johnston. Muriel? Stand up, Muriel. (Applause.) My young staff said, “Oh my goodness, Muriel Johnston, she’s the oldest Peace Corps volunteer in the world.” I said, “That’s not the way we think about it.” (Laughter.) No, Muriel and I might say she is one of the best Peace Corps volunteers in the world. (Applause.) And it’s also a great reminder that in America in the 21st century, there are not only second acts; there’s third acts and fourth acts and fifth acts and – if you’re ready to embrace new challenges.

I also wanted to say a word of particular appreciation to the Government of Morocco under King Mohammed VI’s leadership to empower more women politically. As part of the Middle East Partnership Initiative, the so-called MEPI, the USAID staff provides training for women interested in running for office and serving in government. And last June, Moroccans elected 3,400 women to local councils. And I am delighted to have had the opportunity to meet Mayor Mansouri, because she is one of the many women who have been entrusted by the people of Morocco to serve and lead them.

I also want to recognize the importance of the U.S.-Morocco Free Trade Agreement. And that was not easy. I voted for it as a senator. It happened because of good cooperation between our governments, our private sectors, and the hard work of people like Johanna Merejo. Is Johanna here? Is Johanna – oh, thank you. (Applause.) I also want to recognize Taly Lind of USAID, who is leading an innovative interagency program to lower recidivism rates among young people in prison. So, Taly? Where are you, Taly?

PARTICIPANT: Taly’s working.

SECRETARY CLINTON: Taly’s out working probably. (Laughter.)

So this is a whole-of-government approach and you’re one of our demonstration projects, and we’re going to look to you to give us feedback, tell us what works, what doesn’t work. But we’re trying to get away from the stovepipes and the compartmentalization. I traveled a lot as First Lady, I traveled a lot as Senator, and when you go into a country and you say that you want to talk to everybody who’s doing aid and development work and representatives from 10 different agencies show up and they haven’t met each other because there’s no effort to try to network and focus, that is not the most efficient way for us to make an impact with our partner nations like Morocco.

So it is my goal as Secretary of State to do a better job in bringing our own government together and then to turn to you on the ground – both our Foreign Service, our Civil Service, our locally-engaged staff – to really help implement what our policies are. So it’s a great privilege for me to thank you.

I also know that when a visit like this happens, it imposes a lot of extra work on you. You do a lot every single day, and then all of a sudden, somebody like me is going to show up and then you have even more to do. I’m not sure Sam and Sylvia know this yet, but there is a time-honored tradition in our missions around the world that when someone like me who has imposed all this extra work on you finally leaves, when you see the plane taking off, it’s time for a wheels-up party, Sylvia – (laughter) – because then I become somebody else’s responsibility. And you have all made a difference.

I wanted to recognize our Assistant Secretary for Near East and Asia Jeff Feltman. (Applause.) We have opened up some websites that really invite you to offer suggestions, and I have been quite pleased. You can do it anonymously if you would prefer – things that you think would work better, ideas that you have, constructive criticism of any sort. Because we want this to be a two-way street. We want the State Department, USAID, all of our neighbor and associated efforts from the rest of the United States Government to be the best we can be. I think President Obama has set a very high standard for that and we want to help fulfill his vision of America’s role in the world.

So again, let me thank each and every one of you for being here. I know it’s not a hardship post. I understand that. But in some ways, that demands more of you because the expectation is high as to how much more we can do together. And I expect a lot of you as well. So I’m going to be kept informed about how this demonstration project works here in Morocco. I will look to see the ideas that you bring to the table of our efforts to have the first-ever quadrennial development and diplomacy review. It’s modeled on the QDR, which is the Quadrennial Defense Review.

I served on the Armed Services Committee for six years. It seemed to me that the Defense Department was able to present its views and make its requests very effectively, in large measure, because they were so organized in doing so. So we’re going to do our own QDDR and we’re going to set forth our vision of diplomacy and development so that then we can go to the Congress and the American people and make the case why investing in diplomacy and development is in the interest of American values, American interests, and the American future that we’re trying to help achieve. Thank you all very much. (Applause.)

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