Clinton meets 2 of 4 criteria for effective SOS??

Getty image 89276665, Hillary Clinton, July 27, 2009 | SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images   Politico has a piece by Aaron David Millier — advisor to six U.S. secretaries of state — in which he states, “I’m not sure whether to offer [Secretary Clinton] congratulations or condolences.” He outlines four criteria that make for an effective secretary ...

582978_090728_ClintonDialogue2.jpg
582978_090728_ClintonDialogue2.jpg

 

Getty image 89276665, Hillary Clinton, July 27, 2009 | SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images

Getty image 89276665, Hillary Clinton, July 27, 2009 | SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images
 

Politico has a piece by Aaron David Millier — advisor to six U.S. secretaries of state — in which he states, “I’m not sure whether to offer [Secretary Clinton] congratulations or condolences.”

He outlines four criteria that make for an effective secretary of state (SOS):

  1. Having a “formidable physical and intellectual persona”
  2. Being “tough and at times devious”
  3. Having a “negotiator’s mind-set”
  4. Having the “president’s ear” and maintaining a close relationship with him

Miller states that Clinton meets the first two criteria, but says that things get “problematic” with the latter two.

Criteria 4 has been debated ad nauseum. Plenty of people, including Henry Kissinger, have said that Clinton and President Obama have a harmonious working relationship.

Regarding criteria 3, it’s probably too early to tell. There haven’t been any major diplomatic breakthroughs in Clinton’s first six months on the job, but who knows that the situation will be a year, or two, or three, from now. Clinton aims to “reset” relations with Russia, even working on a commission with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. This very second she’s at the U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue. As for Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, and Pakistan, those messy issues can’t easily be solved with a treaty or high-level summit.

Photo: SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images

Preeti Aroon was copy chief at Foreign Policy from 2009 to 2016 and was an FP assistant editor from 2007 to 2009. Twitter: @pjaroonFP

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