Quoted: Hillary Clinton, "Cuts to foreign aid would be detrimental to America's national security"

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 Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke with reporters today after having a one on one meeting with new House Speaker John Boehner. During their conversation, they spoke about proposed plans to cut aid to foreign countries.

From AFP:

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned Monday that deep Republican cuts to foreign aid would be "detrimental" to national security, saying Washington cannot afford to "recede" from its presence anywhere in the world. Clinton said she had warned Republican House Speaker John Boehner the cuts would cause the State Department and US Agency for International Development (USAID) to scale back their critical roles in Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan. The chief US diplomat also cited the current political upheaval in Egypt, the linchpin of US peacemaking in the Middle East, as a key reason for keeping a strong diplomatic presence that can help to defuse crises. "The scope of the proposed House cuts is massive. The truth is that cuts of that level will be detrimental to America's national security," Clinton told reporters after talks with Boehner, the most powerful Republican. "The State Department and USAID are on the front lines of just about every national security challenge we face. And we are promoting American jobs and advancing economic opportunity for Americans as well," she said.

Hillary Clinton wraps up five day trip to Persian Gulf

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton ended her tour of the Persian gulf with a speech asking the leaders of the region to consider real changes and real reforms in their countries. She was the keynote at the Forum for the Future conference that centered on development solutions for the area. In an article titled, "Good job, Hillary" in the Foreign Policy Magazine, writer Blake Hounshell summed up the general consensus of the speech.

Hillary Clinton gave a good speech today, excoriating Arab leaders for their lousy record on reform and bluntly warning that if they don't shape up, they'll face growing extremism and alienation among their beleaguered populations. "In too many places, in too many ways, the region’s foundations are sinking into the sand," she said. "The new and dynamic Middle East that I have seen needs firmer ground if it is to take root and grow everywhere." And she warned that "others will fill the vacuum" if "leaders don’t offer a positive vision and give young people meaningful ways to contribute." "Extremist elements, terrorist groups, and others who would prey on desperation and poverty are already out there, appealing for allegiance and competing for influence," she added.

Yes, Madam Secretary!

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano travels to Afghanistan

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano traveled to Kabul, Afghanistan today to meet with troops and visit with custom agents and border officials.

More from AFP:

US Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano arrived in Afghanistan for talks with Afghan officials and to spend the New Year's holiday with American troops, her office said. A statement issued from Washington said Napolitano arrived early Friday in Kabul with US customs and border security officials to help provide civilian assistance to local officials.While in Afghanistan, she will meet with senior US and Afghan officials on border security issues. "For several years, the Department of Homeland Security has been contributing personnel to help bolster security in Afghanistan," Napolitano said in the statement.

Politicalgirl: Headlines - National Security

By now everyone knows about the attempted terrorist attack on a Northwest flight headed to Detroit on Christmas Day. It's been almost two weeks since the thwarted attack, and the administration is still trying to figure out what went wrong. Here are some of the major headlines.

Janet Napolitano, Secretary of Homeland Security, has come under fire from Republicans for saying that "the system worked really smoothly" the Sunday after the failed Christmas attack. However President Obama has said that he has faith in her and her ability to lead the department. Maureen Dowd, an outspoken opinion writer from the New York Times, wrote an interesting piece on her on Sunday.

Also over the weekend, TSA ordered tougher screening for 14 countries that started Monday at midnight. Passengers leaving the countries headed toward the US will have to go through secondary screening like pat-downs, full body screening, and inspection of carry on bags. The 14 countries include Cuba, Iran, Sudan and Syria who are listed as state sponsors of terrorism. Additionally, Afghanistan, Algeria, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia and Yemen are classified as countries of interest.

The US and Britian embassies have closed in Yemen because of security threats. *Just learned that France, Germany and Japan have also closed their embassies as well. I think we will be hearing alot more about Yemen in the coming months as a new training ground for terrorism as news that the local Al Queda group in Yemen trained Umar Abdulmutallab, the suspected Christmas Day bomber.

President Obama has a high level meeting with all of his intelligence advisors Tuesday that will include discussions on what went wrong on Christmas Day and the new changes being implemented to circumvent more terrorism threats.

I always skirted over foreign affairs in favor of women's history and presidential biographies, however with all the recent news I'm finding myself wanting to learn more and more about foreign policy. As our world becomes smaller and smaller national security will continue to dominate our headlines. With the recent attempted plot, it's really becoming clear to me the deep hatred that so many individuals have for the US. I, like many others thought the threat was limited to Afghanistan, Iraq, and Iran yet we are seeing additional countries being added to the list. I really hope in the future that we not only focus on the above countries, but smaller countries that have Al Queda forces in them as well. With so much money focused on the 2 wars we have forgotten that Al Queda's threat and influence is spreading and isn't limited to just one location. xoxo, politicalgirl