Travel Diary: Secretary Clinton Meets With United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Abdullah

Posted by DipNote Bloggers
March 15, 2011

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton briefed reporters before her bilateral meeting with United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed in Paris, France, on March 14, 2011.

Responding to questions from the press, Secretary Clinton said, "I'm looking forward to talking with my colleague, counterpart, and friend Sheikh Abdullah about the events in the region. And obviously, that includes everything that is happening. But the UAE is currently the president of the Gulf Cooperation Council, and he is here representing the GCC, so we will have a very comprehensive discussion."

In response to a question about the decision to send troops to Bahrain, United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed said, "...[T]he Bahrain Government asked us yesterday to look at ways to help them to defuse the tension in Bahrain, and we have already sent roughly around 500 of our police force, who are there. The Saudis are there as well. There are other Gulf countries which are (inaudible) to support the Bahraini Government and to get calm and order in Bahrain and to help both the Bahraini Government and people to reach to a solution which is for the best for the Bahraini people."

You can read the Secretary's complete remarks here.



South Korea
March 15, 2011

Palgye in South Korea writes:


Libya's army, the militia
effectively to win, since the revolution of the Middle East for Jasmine, I think the government is battling the more powerful. One small reason, but ...

Ruling militia, or at least to a certain area becomes a victory, and to a certain area if they are recognized as a territory, there to provide housing for the Palestinian population policy was thinking ...

individual things.-
Posco to build steel mills in India are opposed. POSCO employees because of me and I talk to - on the internet - I know I keep laughing about that, go back to work for Posco placed in environments where the worst of it will suffer. And, in India there is a steel mill, and there was also concern about over-think. Minutes of the excess production in China to consume space in Asia, the Indian think. The lack of early, but the steel mill to be built 30-40 years thinking, too, may lead to the need for the stock I think. Elimination of excess in China, China's consumption was also concern about the potential to reduce I think.
Considered too pessimistic, but is with companies such as POSCO, the future of the Southeast Asian countries such as stainless steel production in a difficult industry ...

March 15, 2011

W.W. writes:

Although93, so how a rep of Democracy and liberty and a rep. of Teocracy will join effort21 in shielding planet earth from solar flakes, God or no god ?

Connecticut, USA
March 15, 2011

Samuel in Connecticut writes:

U.S. and Libya situation (By a friend of the white House)

If U.S. government is actually fighting for democracy, human rights and liberty and freedom why don't they go to Ivory Coast to remove the defeated dictator, president Gbagbo and install the winner of the last presidential election who has since been under house arrest while hundred of women who have been protesting against the current regime are getting killed.

President Obama and U.S. secretary of state Mrs. Clinton should understand that what is happening in Libya is not a popular uprising against the government as it was in Egypt. Libya’s situation is where tribal leaders or at best political rivals are manipulating the current movement to over throw a popular government. What happens when U.S., NATO or the war mongers France and Britain intervened, are they going to start killing more than 85% of Libya population who are supporting the present regime or are they going to turn a peaceful Tripoli that has not seen any unrests into a bloody war zones or are those in favor of the current government going to be forced to join the rebels against their will? We must not be ignorant of these questions when we are pushing for no flying zone or any form of military intervention.

From geo-economic perspective, the present Libya regime is pro-African immigrants as such a lot of Africans immigrated to Libya to look for economic opportunity since it is impossible to obtain America visa for the same purpose. Evidently, this is why rebels - most of them from the Arab tribe were attacking and killing African immigrants especially from West Africa during the early phase of the conflict as have been widely reported in the news. If U.S. intent is to alter this balance, then they should ease the restriction of visa to African immigrants who have already been displaced and will continued to be displaced by American military intervention.

Before Obama’s administration should go further, they must understand that the same senator McCain and his double standard friend senator Lieberman (when it comes to Palestine and Israel) who have ran out political juice; would be the first to be calling any military intervention against Libya, "Obama's war". When that time comes, President Obama who could not easily defend his health care that is good for American people will not be able to deny the right-wing attacks that Libya’s war is â€œObama’s warâ€. Even today, most Americans assume that, Afghanistan war is Obama's war forgetting that it was started and abandoned by ex-president George Bush. In essence it is a political miscalculation to intervene in any military capacities. Suppose the tea party, support by majority republican congress and right-wing judges; for no apparent reasons decided to strip Mr. Obama’s presidency (this might sound inconceivable, but to some it would be seen as popular uprising) what would be the final outcome? Let the Libyan people sort out their problems themselves, the worst is that it will turn into a civil war but the majority will prevail.

Remember, as we are fighting terrorism, we should be careful not to breed the atmosphere where al Qaeda will flourish. President Obama should be prudent, yield to wisdom, and don't dance by the polls or pushed around in a life or death situation.

New Mexico, USA
March 15, 2011

Eric in New Mexico writes:

When the Secretary gets back home, I think it would be a good idea for her, the President and Sec. Gates to hold a joint press conference and lay out the options on the table to the American public with respect to Lybia, and take all the time they need to do it to the public and press' satisfaction if it takes an entire afternoon to do it.

This Admin. has made a verbal commitment to see Ghaddafi gone from power and the American public deserves to weigh those option of the "how" the "why" and "when" and "with whom" we may do it in partnership with, assuming there are some nations willing to commit to it.

@ Samuel in Conn.,

The only "warmonger" I see at present is the WMD that has declared war upon his people in Lybia.

Wake up and smell the roses, things arn't as you percieve them to be when nations express concern about the protection of populations, and discuss the various means of achieving that.

As far as I can see there's far too much talk and far too little action taken so far to assure that, with the notable exception of the ongoing USAID efforts to provide aid, comfort and US military efforts to repatriate foriegn nationals working in Lybia who've been harrased, ripped off, and abused by Ghaddafi's regime.

There's a difference between these folks and the mercenaries Ghaddafi hired to suppress his people and you apparently don't know the difference, but the rebels do that much I can assure you.

I think they know who's shooting at them don't you?

Try a little logic for a change, you'll make more sense that way.


North Carolina, USA
March 15, 2011

Jason in North Carolina writes:

I wonder why Iraq is not a member of the GCC.

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