Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Thursday described
"energy diplomacy" as a driving force behind U.S. foreign policy and
offered a spirited defense of the Obama administration's foreign-policy record.
She also took swipes at rivals, including China and Russia, which she said have
used energy as a geopolitical or trade weapon.
"Fundamentally, energy is an issue of wealth and power, which means it can
be a source of both conflict and cooperation," she said in a speech at
Georgetown University that came a year after the creation of the Bureau of
Energy Resources at the State Department. Its role is to put oil, natural gas,
electricity and clean-energy issues at the center of American foreign policy.
Mrs. Clinton's claim that "energy diplomacy" has been a success story
directly addressed themes that have become fodder on the campaign trail.
Poll respondents have generally favored the administration's foreign-policy
stances over those of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. But
recently Mr. Romney has made headway by citing last month's deadly attack on a
U.S. consulate in Libya, lingering concerns over the Syrian uprising, the
standoff over Iran's nuclear program and friction with Israel's
leadership. Mr. Romney has described the Obama foreign policy as
"unraveling."
Republican critics said administration actions belied Mrs. Clinton's rhetoric.
"Secretary Clinton may believe in 'energy diplomacy,' but her boss does
not," said Ryan Williams, a Romney campaign spokesman. He said President
Barack Obama's limits on the Keystone XL pipeline harmed America's relationship
with Canada and threatened access to its oil, and that he is stalling an important
energy pact with Mexico.
Mrs. Clinton detailed some of the highest-profile diplomatic efforts involving
energy, including what she called the most important: sanctions on Iran's oil sector. That required persuading Iran's customers to stop buying its oil and oil
producers to pump more to make up the difference. U.S. diplomatic efforts in
Iraq helped unlock nearly a million additional barrels of oil a day, she said,
helping make sanctions on Tehran workable and bolstering the Iraqi economy.
Mrs. Clinton also spoke of U.S. natural gas weakening Russia's hold over its
European neighbors. She credited U.S. diplomacy with bringing Sudan and South
Sudan back to the negotiating table after recent fighting -- and restoring oil
production there that is crucial to global markets. She heralded an agreement
with Mexico to share oil resources that straddle borders in the Gulf of Mexico
and promised it would be sent to Congress soon.