At the same time President George W. Bush spoke about Iraq on Thursday night, the last Democratic secretary of State offered strong criticism of the Republican's foreign policy at a speech on the University of Iowa campus.
“Iraq will go down as the greatest disaster in American foreign policy, bigger than Vietnam -- which is quite a statement,” said former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who is campaigning for Hillary Clinton. The war will likely have broader long-term consequences on American foreign policy, she said, because of the strategic importance of the Middle East and the fact that the war is forcing the United States to ignore other foreign policy needs.
Albright with moderator Chris Rossi
"Everybody has talked about the problem of a unilateral foreign policy," she told about 150 attendees, "but we have a unidimensional foreign policy (in) using only one tool, military force."
She said a small reduction in troop strength would simply be maintaining the status quo. “President Bush’s Plan B is to leave this for the next president," said Albright, who served in Bill Clinton's Cabinet. "Therefore, we need a president who is able to deal with it. Hillary says within 60 days of being inaugurated, the troops will be coming out.”
She defended the New York senator's vote to authorize Bush to use force in Iraq in 2002. “I understand that vote and I respect it, and I respect that she has taken responsibility for it. She doesn’t make excuses, she takes responsibility," she added, without naming rivals. Candidates Joe Biden, Chris Dodd and John Edwards also supported the war resolution but have since distanced themselves from the vote.
When asked by an audience member to directly compare Clinton's foreign policy qualifications with those of rivals Bill Richardson and Barack Obama, Albright declined.
“I have been involved in Democratic politics for a very, very long time, and I am not going to criticize other candidates," she said to applause. "We have a tendency in the Democratic Party to form our firing lines in circles, and then we have a damaged candidate. We have a great slate of candidates, and any one of them is better than the slate in the other party.”
She then returned to the evening's theme of emphasizing Clinton's experience in foreign policy. “She and I traveled frequently together," Albright said about Clinton's trips as a first lady. "She was so incredibly well informed about whatever group we were with, and she listened and integrated that information -- and that’s what makes a great leader.”
Albright, a naturalized citizen, repeatedly expressed her pride in serving as secretary of State and representing her adopted country. "I feel very strongly that America is an exceptional country," said Albright, who immigrated from Czechoslovakia in 1948. "It has a set of values that should be reflected in our foreign policy. It is important for us to be able to use our power and wealth on behalf of others. A moral foreign policy is different that a moralistic foreign policy."
She said that human rights violations by U.S. military and others at Abu Gharib and Guantanamo Bay leave the U.S. in a position where it can't condemn other countries for human rights violations.
"We don’t have to be loved, and I don’t think we have to be feared, she said. "But we have to be respected."
Albright is on a six-stop trip through eastern and central Iowa this week in support of Clinton. The candidate returns to Iowa this weekend, joining other leading candidates Sunday at Tom Harkin's annual Steak Fry.
Asked directly if she would like to serve as secretary of State in a Hillary Clinton administration, Albright said that even though she had loved the job in Bill Clinton's administration, "you don’t get to be secretary of State twice. I will be happy to do whatever I’m asked, but mostly I want to see Hillary Clinton be president of the United States."
“I think she is so fantastic and we are very lucky to have a leader who is very smart, very ready, very strong, and very experienced. We need change, and she is the most every experienced.”
Albright closed by praising the Iowa caucus process. “I am so admiring of Iowa voters, who take so much time and interest in sorting out the candidates,” she said.
Former Iowa first lady Christie Vilsack spoke briefly after Albright, encouraging attendees to sign the pledge card and volunteer.
Clinton staffers apparently expected a larger crowd at the Iowa Memorial Union, and spent the minutes before the speech packing away chairs in the back half of the hall and urging people to move forward.
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