Senate Foreign Relations Committee Hearings Underway On Clinton Appointment As U.S. Secretary Of State

Washington, D.C. (AHN) - Sen. Hillary Clinton is being questioned by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that will decide if she is qualified to serve as U.S. Secretary of State under President-elect Barack Obama.

Clinton talked about the ongoing Israeli military operation against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip during the hearing on Tuesday morning.

Clinton said that she and Obama were both "deeply sympathetic" to Israel's right to defend itself against attack, but that they were also aware of the tragic humanitarian cost to non-combatant Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip. Those realities make seeking a just and lasting peace solution that brings lasting security to Israel all the more important, Clinton said.

She also told senators that U.S. foreign policy must be pragmatic.

The top priority of the Obama administration will be "responsibly ending the war in Iraq and employing a broad strategy in Afghanistan that reduces threats to our safety and enhances the prospect of stability and peace," Clinton told the committee.

One possible glitch to Clinton's confirmation lies with the concern of some Republican senators, including Dick Lugar from Indiana, over the Clinton Foundation run by Clinton's husband, former President Bill Clinton.

Lugar, and others, told Clinton that they feel the existence of the Clinton Foundation would pose a temptation to some foreign entities to make donations to the foundation in an attempt to try to curry favor with the Obama adminstration and that even "well-intentioned" donations could somehow pose a risk for U.S. foreign security.

Calling the complex ethics disclosure agreement deal between the Obama administration and the Clinton Foundation inadequate, Lugar told Hillary Clinton that the only way forward with confirming her nomination was for her husband's foundation to "forswear new foreign contributions" when she becomes secretary of state.