Yesterday, Hillary Clinton spoke with the New Hampshire Union Leader on a wide range of topics. When asked what her top two accomplishments were as Secretary of State, Clinton said, “putting together the coalition that imposed sanctions on Iran” and “continuing with a persistent effort to actually enforce those sanctions.”
Unfortunately for Clinton, these “accomplishments” are hollow. Let’s take a look at the facts:
CLAIM: Clinton said she put “together the coalition that imposed sanctions on Iran”
FACTS: Clinton made concessions, including lifting other sanctions against Russian companies, and altering U.S. missile defense plans in Eastern Europe, to build an international coalition on Iran sanctions. Clinton’s State Department tried to water down and “vigorously opposed almost all” of Congress’ sanctions on Iran.
Further, once sanctions were in place, Clinton repeatedly exempted major countries, such as Russia and China, from punishments for violating those sanctions.
CLAIM: Clinton said she developed better communication with China, reached out to European allies who “felt neglected,” won and kept American jobs, and made progress on internet freedom.
FACTS: The Chinese used Clinton’s Strategic and Economic Dialogue to attack the U.S.’s China policy while the talks themselves produced “few, if any, tangible results.”
Despite Clinton’s claims about reaching out to European allies, the opinion of the U.S. in key European countries actually went down while Clinton was Secretary of State.
Additionally, jobs continued to flow out of the U.S. between 2008 and 2010, while in 2010, large American companies invested more in jobs abroad than at home.
Finally, Clinton’s few successes on Internet freedom were undermined by the Snowden revelations, which made her push for Internet freedom seem “hypocritical.”