Europeans Ask How Hillary Will Differ from Bush

Senator Hillary Clinton’s rapid progress toward confirmation as U.S. Secretary of State was reported widely in the European media. Most reports gave her a warm welcome, praising her commitment to "smart power" and renewed diplomacy. Many, however, also pointed out that in her Senate confirmation hearing she did not depart much in any specific detail from policies pursued by President Bush over the past two years. Here are a few representative reports from the European media:

• Hillary Clinton promises US will win back friends across the world
  This report, by Britains' The Daily Telegraph, focuses on the intention of Clinton and Barack Obama to be generally more concerned with "principles and pragmatism" than "rigid ideology." It addd that, despite Clinton’s promises of changes in U.S. diplomacy, "Other than [on] Iran, she offered little to suggest that there will be major departures with (sic) the policies pursued by George W. Bush in [the] final two years of his presidency, which has (sic) been much more conciliatory than the first six years."
• Easy ride for Clinton in Senate hearing despite new fears
  The Guardian’s even more skeptical report focuses on the Senate hearings and noted possible conflicts of interest between Clinton’s role as Secretary of State and the international fund-raising activities of the foundation run by her husband, former President Bill Clinton. The Guardian said that her role might invite "pay to play" behavior by foreign governments and quoted an Associated Report that, as a Senator, she had previously written letters on behalf of some of the foundation’s donors. While praising her commitment to "smart power" (a blend of hard military power and soft diplomatic power), the report noted that she gave no specifics about the Obama administration’s plans to deal with foreign crises, other than claiming that its approach would be different from President Bush’s "rigid" ideology.
• La diplomatie d’Hillary Clinton : "principes et pragmatisme"
  Le Monde reported that Clinton was warmly received by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and that the atmosphere "could not have been more family-like" as the departing Senator outlined her approach to the new “American moment” that is about to arrive. On the crisis in Gaza, the report notes that she "deplores the suffering of the Palestinians" but will not speak to Hamas until it recognizes Israel and renounces violence. It described her as most specific on Afghanistan, where Obama’s approach was "more for more" – meaning that if the United States stepped up its commitments, its allies should follow suit, whether in the military or civilian field. She added that Obama was aware that a military solution in Afghanistan would not be enough.