State Department

Remarks With Reporters in the Correspondents' Room -- Washington, DC, January 27, 2009 -- MR. WOOD: Before we get started, it’s obviously on the record, but we’re going to keep this to 15 minutes, about. The Secretary has another appointment she has to get to. So why don’t you guys go ahead and start, whoever wants to ask the first question.

QUESTION: You know, what I think everybody is intrigued by is how this is all going to work, because you have a lot of very powerful personalities dealing with foreign policy, with diplomacy, et cetera – Biden, Gates, Jones and you, and the President.

SECRETARY CLINTON: And the President, of course.

QUESTION: Not to forget him. So how is it going to work? Some are saying tug of war –    » read more »

January 27, 2009 -- Robert Wood, Acting Spokesman -- Washington, DC -- MR. WOOD: Good morning, everyone. Welcome to the briefing. I don’t have anything, so why don’t we go to your questions.

Bob.

QUESTION: Robert, I have a couple of questions for you. One is, is it this Administration’s policy that Iran cannot be allowed to get a nuclear weapon, that that’s an absolute redline, as opposed to the previous administration?

MR. WOOD: The Administration’s view is that it is unacceptable for Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon. The Administration plans to consult closely with all of its allies to see what we can do to prevent Iran from doing so, so that is indeed the position of the Administration.

QUESTION: May I ask a second question?

MR. WOOD: Sure.    » read more »

Washington, DC -- 01/26/2009 -- SECRETARY CLINTON: Thank you. Thank you very much. Well, welcome to the State Department, but really, many of you work here and work at USAID and do the important business of our country, and I’m so pleased that you could join us today, because it is with great enthusiasm that I am naming today a Special Envoy for Climate Change.    » read more »

Hillary Rodham Clinton, Secretary of State -- Address to U.S. Agency for International Development Employees -- Washington, DC -- Thank you. Thank you very, very much. Thank you, Dr. Hill, for not only that very warm introduction, but for your description. That really does briefly encapsulate the work that USAID does with the help of all of you. And Mr. Zamora, thank you for reminding me of our time in Egypt. And I was looking out here when Dr. Hill said that I perhaps have seen some of you in other places, from Nicaragua to Egypt to Indonesia and lots of places in between.    » read more »

January 23, 2009 -- On January 21, the United States deposited its instruments of ratification for Protocols III, IV, and V of the Convention on Conventional Weapons (“CCW”) and for an amendment to that Convention. Protocol III covers incendiary weapons, Protocol IV covers blinding laser weapons, and Protocol V deals with explosive remnants of war. The Amendment expands the scope of the Convention to non-international armed conflicts.

The United States took a leading role in negotiating these protocols and the amendment, has long complied with the norms contained in them, and is pleased to become a party to each of them. This action reaffirms our commitment to the development and implementation of international humanitarian law.    » read more »

Special Envoy for Middle East Peace George Mitchell and Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke

Benjamin Franklin Room, Department of State, Washington, DC -- SECRETARY CLINTON: Thank you. Thank you very much, and welcome to the State Department. Please be seated.

We are delighted to be joined this afternoon by President Obama and Vice President Biden for this very important announcement. But it is also absolutely a delight to have the President and the Vice President here with us today. It is an indication of the President's commitment to a foreign policy that protects our national security and advances our interests and is in keeping with our values. So we, Mr. President, take great heart from the confidence that you have placed in us.    » read more »

January 22, 2009 -- As spring and summer breaks approach, many students are getting ready for a trip abroad. The following information will help students plan a safe and enjoyable adventure.

First, a note about U.S. passports: As of January 23, 2007, everyone traveling in and out of the United States by air needs a passport. We encourage students to apply now. Processing times are traditionally faster in February.    » read more »

01/22/2009 -- SECRETARY CLINTON: Thank you. Thank you all so much. Well, I am absolutely honored and thrilled beyond words to be here with you as our nation's 67th Secretary of State. And I believe, with all of my heart, that this is a new era for America. (Applause.)

President Obama set the tone with his inaugural address. And the work of the Obama-Biden Administration is committed to advancing America's national security, furthering America's interests, and respecting and exemplifying America's values around the world. (Applause.)    » read more »

01/21/2009 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry (D – Mass.) made the following statement today after an overwhelming 94 – 2 vote by the Senate to confirm President Barack Obama’s nominee for Secretary of State, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton.    » read more »

WASHINGTON, Aug. 21, 2008 – Washington and Baghdad are close to reaching a status of forces agreement, but negotiations on the deal to determine the future U.S. military role in Iraq are ongoing, a Defense Department official said today.

“We’ve made good progress on it; we are close,” Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said. “There are still some issues to work out, but … it’s very premature at this point to say that we have an agreement.”

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, in a surprise one-day visit to Baghdad today, said the discussion about the status of forces is possible only because of recent security progress leading up to negotiations.    » read more »

12 August 2008 -- A new report says the United States has spent about $100 billion on private contractors to support operations in Iraq since the 2003 invasion to oust Saddam Hussein.

At the height of last year's military surge in Iraq, the United States had roughly 168,000 troops deployed in the country.

Blackwater security guards, Republican Palace, Baghdad: US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) photograph by ACoE photographer Jim Gordon.

But America's armed forces have been outnumbered by what some see as a private army funded by the federal government: contractors that provide a wide array of services, from security operations to rebuilding projects to logistical support.    » read more »

06/17/2008 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator John Kerry today sent a letter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to express his grave concerns over the Burmese military junta’s restricting foreign aid to millions devastated by the recent cyclone, and to ask whether the junta’s actions may constitute “crimes against humanity” under international law. Kerry has requested a legal opinion from the State Department.    » read more »

12 June 2008 -- The United States said Thursday it has "persistently" expressed concern about human rights in Ethiopia with top officials in Addis Ababa, including alleged abuses in the Ogaden region. The comments follow an assertion by the monitoring group Human Rights Watch that the United States and key European countries have been silent on Ogaden rights violations.

Rural Addis Ababa: Photo by Travlr (CC)

The State Department says it is giving the Human Rights Watch report on the Ogaden careful study but it is rejecting out-of-hand the report's assertion of U.S. silence on Ethiopian human rights.    » read more »

21 May 2008 -- The U.S. State Department said Wednesday a pending international treaty banning cluster munitions could have unintended consequences for international military cooperation in such areas as disaster relief. The United States and several other major military powers are not taking part in the 100-nation treaty talks in Dublin.

B-1B Lancer releashes cluster munitions: Air Force photo

State Department officials say they share international concern about civilian casualties caused by cluster bomb munitions lingering in former battle zones.    » read more »

May 18, 2008 -- SECRETARY RICE: I thought that I might just come back and recap a little bit some of the impressions of the trip and some of what we were able to do here, what the President was able to do here, and then I'll take your questions. I'll be pretty brief.

I think first and foremost, of course, the President came to celebrate Israel's 60th. And Israel is a remarkable place. If you looked at the pictures of those Israelis arriving at the time of the partition, and you look at Israel now, you can't help but be impressed by all that's been achieved.    » read more »