WASHINGTON — Hillary Clinton took charge of the State Department on Thursday, proclaiming the start of a new era of robust U.S. diplomacy to tackle the world’s crises and improve America’s standing abroad.
Before a raucous, cheering crowd of about 1,000 people, the nation’s 67th secretary of state pledged to boost the morale and resources of the diplomatic corps and promised them a difficult but exciting road ahead.
“I believe with all of my heart that this is a new era for America,” she said to loud applause in the main lobby of the department’s headquarters, which President Barack Obama visited later in the day to underscore his administration’s commitment to diplomacy.
With Obama at her side in the ornate Ben Franklin Room, Clinton introduced former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell, D-Maine, as a special envoy for the Middle East. Former U.N. ambassador Richard Holbrooke was announced as a special adviser on Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The posts are the first of several new special envoys the administration plans to name to deal with particularly vexing problems abroad.
Clinton began her first day on the job at the State Department one day after her Senate confirmation.
“This is going to be a challenging time and it will require 21st century tools and solutions to meet our problems and seize our opportunities,” Clinton said at her welcoming. “I’m going to be asking a lot of you. I want you to think outside the proverbial box. I want you to give me the best advice you can.”
Clinton takes over an agency that was often sidelined during George Bush’s eight-year presidency, particularly in his first term over the decision to go to war in Iraq. Although former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice restored some of the department’s influence, diplomats still complained of a lack of access to the top, as well as funding.
After her remarks, Clinton made telephone calls to foreign leaders, toured some of the department’s key offices and received briefings before hosting Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and national security adviser James Jones.
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