US SECRETARY of State Hillary Clinton's tense exchanges with Pakistani civilians and Arab diplomats over a harrowing week of foreign stops have exposed the confining limits of her office.
On her most ambitious and contentious overseas trip as secretary of state, she had to resort to damage control after she appeared to mangle the Obama administration's message on frozen Middle East peace talks.
And while she scored points back ho
me by standing up to angry Pakistanis who confronted her about drone-launched US missile strikes, her blunt questioning of the resolve of Pakistan's government exposed American impatience with its incremental steps against terrorists.
In each case her extraordinarily public approach to diplomacy reflected her personal style and President Barack Obama's promise to reach out to friend as well as foe.
What remains less clear is whether Clinton's hot-button politician's persona works any better at producing international results, let alone clarity, than a more classic diplomat's cooler tact.
There were no breakthroughs, and it is too early to know how her performances in Pakistan, Abu Dhabi, Israel, Morocco and Egypt will play out. Still, Clinton emphatically followed through on a pledge to communicate more aggressively abroad and challenge US critics on their own turf.
From here on, she said last month, "We're going to be in the mix… every day."
It is a boldly political take on taking on the world, and Clinton is relying on some of her old campaign trail tricks and audacity to press America's case. In Pakistan, she aggressively sold the administration's stance against al-Qaeda during several crowded "town hall" forums.
In Lahore, she said bluntly: "Al-Qaeda has had safe haven in Pakistan since 2002. I find it hard to believe that nobody in your government knows where they are and couldn't get them if they really wanted to. And maybe that's the case. Maybe they're not gettable. I don't know."
Pakistan's leaders, displeased, waited until Clinton departed to slap back. But even when she had a second chance to scale back her remarks, Clinton softened them only slightly.
She also chastised Pakistan's leaders for diminishing their standing in Washington by complaining about tough new conditions set by Congress for providing billions in new aid.
"For the United States Congress to pass a bill unanimously, saying that we want to give $7.5 billion to Pakistan in a time of global recession when we have a 10 per cent unemployment rate, and then for Pakistani press and others to say, 'We don't want that'; that's insulting," she said.
That was not what the Pakistani government wanted to hear, but it seemed to reflect Clinton's determination to show them that they can complain about US counterterror tactics and about strings attached to US aid, but not without hearing the administration's own ideas.
Clinton's toughened public stance was less in evidence, though, when she turned to the Middle East peace process. Instead of bluntness, she struggled to cater to both Israeli and Arab positions, making no headway in getting either side to move closer.
In Jerusalem, trying to mollify Israeli reluctance to agree to halt all future settlements as a pretext to renewed peace talks with Palestinians, Clinton floated an Israeli proposal that would restrain, but not stop, construction of West Bank housing.
Palestinian and Arab diplomats reacted with outrage, and the Clinton who had been tough in Pakistan was forced to back-pedal. Arab officials questioned whether the US had tilted toward Israel and abandoned its position that continued Israeli settlements are illegitimate and must be brought to a full stop.
Clinton's comments reflected a realisation in the Obama administration that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government will not accept a full-on settlement freeze and that a partial halt might be the best lesser option. Her appeal seemed designed to make the Israeli position more palatable to the Palestinians and Arab states.
She had travelled to the region reluctantly, with misgivings that her visit might be perceived as a failure without clear results, according to US officials. She agreed to meet Israeli and Palestinian leaders after pressure from the White House, said officials.
Later in Marrakesh, Morocco, she issued what she called a clarification. She still was dogged by questions about the settlements issue for the rest of her time abroad.
