WASHINGTON — Secretary of State-designate Hillary Rodham Clinton on Tuesday promised a new diplomacy that would give America "more partners and fewer adversaries" and signaled her intention to reach out to Iran and continue the uphill struggle for Middle East peace.
At a five-hour Senate confirmation hearing, Sen. Clinton said she and President-elect Barack Obama would overhaul the approach of the Bush administration with a rejuvenated emphasis on diplomatic engagement, alliance-building and development.
"I believe that American leadership has been wanting but is still wanted," she told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. She said U.S. foreign policy should not be guided by "rigid ideology," pledging that in the Obama administration, "there will be no doubt about the leading role of diplomacy."
Clinton wants to swiftly increase State Department funding to broaden its role in national security and increase the government's reliance on nonmilitary action in response to international crises. That objective is shared by Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates.
Yet on a series of international problems, Clinton described a posture with echoes of the Bush administration. "We will lead with diplomacy because it's a smart approach," she said at one point. "But we also know that military force will sometimes be needed."
She was received warmly but faced repeated challenges about the charitable activities of her husband. Democratic as well as Republican senators expressed concern that contributions to former President Clinton's foundation could pose potential conflicts of interest.
Sen. Richard G. Lugar of Indiana, the committee's senior Republican, urged the Clinton foundation to exclude all foreign donations. He said the foundation represented a "unique complication" because of the risk that foreigners might think giving money will win favors from the former president's wife.
Clinton defended her husband, contending that plans for disclosure of contributors go beyond that required by government ethics watchdogs.
"No matter what we do, there will be those that [claim] conflicts," she said.
Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.), the new chairman of the committee, said Lugar's concerns were shared by the others on the panel.
Under an agreement with the Obama transition team, the Clinton foundation made public a list of its past donors and promised to publish annually the names of its donors and to submit future foreign donations to a State Department ethics review.
