printable banner

Subject IndexMonday, November 9, 2009
Date: 11/09/2009 Description: Secretary Clinton with German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle. © AP Image
U.S. Relationship With Germany
Secretary Clinton (Nov. 9): "We had constructive and productive discussions starting in Washington last week, continuing here in Berlin. The United States is eager to work with the new German Government on a full range of shared challenges. We face complex threats that cannot be stopped by borders or oceans. Global recession, violent extremism, nuclear proliferation, climate change, hunger, and disease are only some that are the transnational threats of our time." -Full Text
Meeting the Challenges of Freedom
Secretary Clinton (Nov. 8): "[O]ur history did not end the night the Wall came down. It began anew. And this matters not only to tens of millions of Europeans, and to the United States, but to people everywhere. How do we take this gift of freedom, this alliance of values, this commitment for a better future, and put it to work to meet the challenges of freedom today? The new nations of a united Europe are our partners, standing with us in Afghanistan, patrolling waters against pirates, working to combat poverty, helping to prevent terrorism, promoting our common values." -Full Text
No Limits Public Policy Conference
Secretary Clinton (Nov. 6): "Every conflict we have in the world today is really bound up in whether people will invest in the future, whether they will seek common ground with others, or whether they will either stay frozen or go backwards. And part of our job in the State Department is to better explain what it is the United States represents. We got a little off track over the last eight years. We’re trying to get back on track today. ...Judith McHale was appointed the Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy, and she is traveling the world, looking for the ways that we can better connect so that we can tell our story. Because everyone has a story to tell, and everyone needs to be thinking about how we better tell America’s story." -Full Text

TEXT THE SECRETARY

Ask Secretary Clinton a question
about her trip to Europe and Asia:
U.S.: 90822 Non-U.S.: 202-255-6299
Secretary Clinton Meets With German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle. -TRIP INFORMATION PAGE
Date: 11/09/2009 Description: Secretary Clinton with German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle. © AP Image

In Other News

envelope
Date: 11/10/1989 Description: People from East and West standing in front of and on top the Berlin Wall at the Brandenburg Gate. © AP Image
Voices of U.S. Diplomacy and the Berlin Wall
(Nov. 8): To mark the 20th Anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, the U.S. Diplomacy Center, Bureau of Public Affairs, has launched the Web exhibition Voices of U.S. Diplomacy and the Berlin Wall. Through this interactive exhibit you can explore the dynamic work of diplomats who labored in Germany from the end of World War II through German unification in 1990. The story is told through their oral histories, artifacts and more. -Media Note
Excerpt from Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton after talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in the capital Cairo.
U.S. Position on Israeli Settlements
Secretary Clinton (Nov. 4): "Our policy on settlements has not changed. And I want to say it again: our policy on settlement activity has not changed. We do not accept the legitimacy of settlement activity. And we have a very firm belief that ending all settlement activity, current and future, would be preferable, and that is what we have put forth, and that is what we have continued to support. What we have received from the Israelis to halt all new settlement activity – and I’ll repeat that again, too – to halt all new settlement activities and to end the expropriation of land, and to issue no permits or approvals, is unprecedented." -Full Text
Secretary Clinton addresses attendees at the Forum for the Future in Marrakech, Morocco
Forum for the Future
Secretary Clinton (Nov. 3): "As President Obama and I believe, it is results, not rhetoric, that matter in the end. Economic empowerment, education, healthcare, access to energy and to credit, these are the basics that all communities need to thrive. The United States seeks to pursue these common aspirations through concrete actions..." -Full Text 
Translations Available: -Arabic -French -Indonesian 
-Russian -Swahili -Turkish -Urdu 
Secretary Clinton at Dinner Honoring the Visit of the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew
Dinner Honoring the Visit of the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew
Secretary Clinton (Nov 5): "I particularly appreciate what he did in the aftermath of 9/11, when he united leaders from across the religious spectrum to condemn the terrorist attacks and call for harmony among the world’s faithful. His campaign on behalf of religious freedom and peaceful coexistence has helped to bridge divides among believers."  -Full Text
Remarks by Assistant Secretary Kurt Campbell after visitng Burma with Ambassador for ASEAN Affairs Scot Marciel and meeting with Aung San Suu Kyi. AP Video
Travel to Burma
Assistant Secretary Campbell (Nov. 5): "I did, I had the chance to not only meet with the senior players inside the government I had the opportunity also to meet with various ethnic groups, opposition parties and also had a two hour meeting with Aung San Suu Kyi. So it was a first step, exploratory mission and we were able to lay out our overall approach to the appropriate stakeholders inside the country."
Date: 11/04/2009 Description: Deputy Secretary of State James B. Steinberg attends a U.S.-EU Energy Council Meeting. © State Dept Image from video
Challenge of Clean Energy and Energy Security
Deputy Secretary Steinberg (Nov. 4): "There are few more important challenges that we all face than these related problems of clean energy and energy security. And one of the things I think we've come to understand is the two are related and that there's an opportunity to achieve a win-win set of solutions on both by working together effectively. And what's important about this council is that it will not only allow us to coordinate energy policies and thus allow us to work together more effectively..." -Full Text
-Briefing on U.S.-EU Energy Council
Date: 11/02/2009 Description: Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, is greeted by her Moroccan counterpart Taieb Fassi Fihri prior to their working lunch at the Mamounia Hotel in Marrakech, Monday, Nov. 2, 2009 © AP Image
Moving Forward in the Middle East
Secretary Clinton (Nov. 2): "The Israelis have responded to the call from the United States, the Palestinians, and the Arab world to stop settlement activity by expressing a willingness to restrain settlement activity. They will build no new settlements, expropriate no land, allow no new construction or approvals." -Full Text
Date: 11/02/2009 Description: Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, is greeted by her Moroccan counterpart Taieb Fassi Fihri prior to their working lunch at the Mamounia Hotel in Marrakech, Monday, Nov. 2, 2009 © AP Image
Meeting With Moroccan Foreign Minister
Secretary Clinton (Nov. 2): "This morning, the foreign minister and I had a very productive conversation about a range of issues, including our shared goal of strengthening stability and prosperity throughout North Africa and the Middle East. I’m looking forward to participating tomorrow in the Forum for the Future." -Full Text
Special Envoy to Sudan Scott Gration
Sudan: U.S. Strategy and Priorities
Special Envoy Gration (Nov. 2): "Our strategy includes elements of bringing an end to the conflict in Darfur and resolving that situation, fully implementing the comprehensive peace agreement between the North and the South...and the referendum, the census and the associated elections, and then of course the component on security and counter-terrorism." -Full Text
Map of Honduras
Breakthrough in Honduras
Secretary Clinton (Oct. 30): "I'm very pleased to announce that we've had a breakthrough in negotiations in Honduras. ...We're looking forward to the elections that will be held on November 29, and working with the people and government of Honduras to realize the full return of democracy and a better future for the Honduran people." -Full Text  -Briefing by Assistant Secretary Shannon
Date: 10/29/2009 Location: Washington, DC Description: Official portrait of Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs Phillip Gordon. © State Dept Image
U.S. Foreign Policy and the OSCE
Assistant Secretary Gordon (Oct. 28): "The OSCE’s comprehensive approach to security offers a vehicle for engagement across the political-military, economic, and human rights dimensions... OSCE’s core values are among the reasons this organization has a central role to play in advancing President Obama’s and Secretary Clinton’s foreign policy strategy." -Full Text
Date: 10/28/2009 Location: Peshawar, Pakistan Description: People gather at the site of the explosion after a car bomb tore through a busy market in northwestern Pakistan. © AP Image
Car-Bombing in Peshawar
Secretary Clinton (Oct. 28): "The United States extends its deepest sympathy to the victims of today’s brutal attack in Peshawar, and to the families and friends of those killed and injured. There is no justification for killing innocent people...." -Full Text

Highlights

Secretary Clinton is traveling to Europe and Asia November 8-19.

Click on any trip marker to go to a larger interactive map, complete with video, photos, and the Secretary's remarks from the trip.
GreenGov Challenge
Date: 10/20/2009 Description: A bottom-up approach to greening government: GreenGov challenge. White House Image
To harness the collective wisdom of the more than 1.8 million civilian employees and our men and women in uniform, we're launching the GreenGov Challenge, an online participatory way for Federal employees to suggest clean energy ideas and vote on others. Some of the top ideas will be presented to the Steering Committee on Federal Sustainability. Be part of the GreenGov Challenge and help green our government! The GreenGov challenge runs from Oct. 19-31. -More
Doors to Diplomacy 2010 Web Project Competition
Date: 2008-11-06 00:00:00.0 Description: Doors to Diplomacy website contest. State Dept PhotoThe Department of State and the Global SchoolNet Foundation announce the 2010 "Doors to Diplomacy" award competition, recognizing the student-created Global SchoolNet Web projects that best teach others about the importance of international affairs and diplomacy. -More

Flu Updates
Since the June 11, 2009, World Health Organization (WHO) declaration of a pandemic, the new H1N1 virus has continued to spread, with the number of countries reporting cases of novel H1N1 nearly doubling. Updates about H1N1 are available through the links below.

United We Serve
Date: 06/17/2009 Description: United We Serve. Serve.gov. © Serve.gov imageServe.gov is a new portal for you and all Americans to find ways to serve in your communities. Americans are putting their own country back on the right track: Be a part of it! Visit Serve.gov, choose your keyword -- "education," "environment," or whatever interests you -- type in your ZIP Code, and see what opportunities our partner organizations have in your area.
Virtual Student Foreign Service (VSFS) Internships
Date: 05/12/2009 Description: Virtual Student Foreign Service logo: Outline of world map in square surrounded by the words Virtual Student Foreign Service. State Dept PhotoVirtual Student Foreign Service (VSFS) Internships, announced by Secretary Clinton at the 2009 New York University commencement speech, are part of a growing effort by the State Department to harness technology and a commitment to global service among young people to facilitate new forms of diplomatic engagement. The VSFS Internships will be developed over the next year and will seek to harness the energy of a rising generation of citizen diplomats.
-Register/More Information

Traveling?

Date: 05/24/2007 Location: Vienna, Austria Description: Concert by Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra held on grounds of Schoenbrunn Palace. © AP Photo
Austria
Austrian history as such dates back to 976, when Leopold von Babenberg became the ruler of much of present-day Austria. In 1276 Rudolf I became the first Habsburg to ascend to the throne. Although never unchallenged, the Habsburgs ruled Austria for nearly 750 years.
- Full Text 
Date: 03/09/2009 Location: Meknes, Morocco Description: Crowds of buyers pack the markets in the old town of Meknes, Morocco, during the Mawlud an-Nabi public holiday when Muslims celebrate the birthday of Islam's Prophet Muhammad. Vineyards around Meknes produce most of the 35 million bottles of wine bottled each year in Morocco. © AP Image
Morocco
Moroccans are predominantly Sunni Muslims of Arab, Berber, or mixed Arab-Berber ancestry. Morocco is home to 14 public universities. Mohammed V University in Rabat is one of the country’s most famous schools. Founded over 1,000 years ago, Karaouine University is the oldest center for Islamic studies in the Maghreb. Morocco’s most prestigious private English-language university, Al-Akhawayn, was founded in 1993. Its curriculum is based on an American model. - Full Text
A yacht sails past the Sydney Opera House on Sydney Harbour, Australia, July 13, 2006. [© AP Images]Australia
Much of Australia's culture is derived from European roots, but distinctive Australian features have evolved from the environment, aboriginal culture, and the influence of Australia's neighbors. The vigor and originality of the arts in Australia--film, opera, music, painting, theater, dance, and crafts--have achieved international recognition.
- Full Text 
Colombia
In 1822, the U.S. became one of the first countries to recognize the new republic and to establish a resident diplomatic mission. The U.S. Government estimates that there are 61,000 U.S. citizens living in Colombia and anywhere from 15,000-40,000 visiting Colombia in any given month. Currently, there are approximately 250 American businesses conducting operations in Colombia.
-Full Text -Read about Colombia's capital, Bogota, in State Magazine (PDF)

 
Date: 02/02/2001 Location: Fujiyoshida, Japan, Description: Mount Fuji in Japan
Japan
Japan, a country of islands, extends along the eastern or Pacific coast of Asia. About 73% of the country is mountainous, with a chain running through each of the main islands. Japan's highest mountain is the world famous Mt. Fuji (12,385 feet). Since so little flat area exists, many hills and mountainsides are cultivated all the way to the summits.
- Full Text  
 

Learn About...

The Office of Electronic Information, Bureau of Public Affairs, manages this site as a portal for information from the U.S. State Department. External links to other Internet sites should not be construed as an endorsement of the views or privacy policies contained therein.