Agence France-Presse,
WASHINGTON: Democratic 2008 front-runner Hillary Clinton Monday said she would offer Iran incentives to halt its nuclear program, but did not rule out a military strike on the Islamic Republic.
Clinton laid out a blueprint for a new era of US diplomacy, stressing engagement, rebuilding trust among US allies and battling the impact of climate change in an article for an upcoming issue of Foreign Affairs journal.
She accused President George W. Bush of tragically wasting “the respect, trust and confidence” of US allies by “rushing” to war in Iraq.
“American leadership is wanting, but it is still wanted,” Clinton wrote, in the latest in a series of Foreign Affairs articles by presidential candidates, less than three months before first party nominating contests.
Clinton said the Bush administration was wrong to refuse to hold talks with US adversaries and accused the White House of squandering “precious time” by avoiding direct talks with Iran on the nuclear crisis.
“True statesmanship requires that we engage with our adversaries, not for the sake of talking but because robust diplomacy is a prerequisite to achieving our aims,” Clinton wrote.
The New York Senator upbraided Iran for sending arms to Hezbollah and using surrogates to kill US troops in Iraq.
But she hinted she may be open to a so-called 'grand bargain' with Tehran, if it decided to end its nuclear program, renounce terrorism, backed Middle East peacemaking and was prepared to play a constructive role in Iraq.
“The United States should be prepared to offer Iran a carefully calibrated package of incentives,” Clinton wrote.
“This will let the Iranian people know that our quarrel is not with them but with their government and show the world that the United States is prepared to pursue every diplomatic option.”
However, she warned if Iran failed to comply with demands to halt its nuclear program, “all options must remain on the table” as debate about Tehran's nuclear ambitions emerges as a theme of the 2008 campaign.
The New York Senator said that she would require US generals to draw up a plan to bring US troops home from Iraq, starting within her first 60 days in office.
She also pledged to target US investment funds to Iraq on helping Iraq people, “rather than to government ministries or ministers that hoard, steal or waste them.”
Clinton called Afghanistan “the forgotten frontline” on the war on terror and pledged to reinforce the US force there, and said defeating terrorists needed US intelligence agents “out on the street, not sitting behind desks.”
She also warned that Washington needed to work out how to respond to a resurgent Russia and a rapidly growing China
