NATO Attack ‘Negates the Progress’ in US, Pakistan Relationship

Photos.com/George Doyle/Thinkstock(ISLAMABAD) -- The weekend NATO attack in Pakistan that has left 25 soldiers dead has negated the progress in improving Pakistan's relationship with the United States, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar told Secretary of State Hillary Clinton early Sunday.

Secretary Clinton expressed her concern, and assured Foreign Minister Khar that the U.S. government would work with Pakistan to resolve this issue, according to reports.

Pakistan has already shelved several scheduled weekend meetings with visiting American officials, the New York Times reports.

The meetings were designed to renew cooperation between the two militaries that was rattled after U.S. military raided Bin Laden’s Pakistani compound in early May.

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Secretary Clinton To Meet With Syrian Representatives

Win McNamee/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- ABC News reports Secretary Hillary Clinton will meet with a group of Syrian activists and representatives from the Syrian-American community Tuesday as the Obama administration tries to develop its policy as President Assad’s crackdown intensifies.

“She’d like to hear from the Syrian community. It’s important because they are another voice and have connections to what’s going on in Syria,” a State Dept official tells ABC News.

Also Tuesday, U.N. diplomats in New York will meet again to haggle over the text of a British proposal that would condemn the Assad government’s crackdown. The big “if” is whether Russia and China will block the measure.

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Snubbed! Egyptian Youth Groups Won't Meet with Hillary

Win McNamee/Getty Images(CAIRO) -- A coalition of six youth groups that emerged from Egypt's revolution last month has refused to meet with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who arrived in Cairo on Tuesday, in protest of the United States' strong support for former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak who was ousted by the uprising.

A spokesman for Clinton had no immediate response to the snub. Another State Department official, who would not speak for attribution, confirmed such a meeting had been slated for Tuesday and noted that she still plans to meet with members of civil society and transitional government officials during her visit, during which she will urge Egyptians to continue on the path towards democracy.

Mubarak was one of the United States' strongest allies in the Middle East over successive American administrations. He enjoyed a cozy relationship with top U.S. leaders, which courted Egypt with massive military aid packages as thanks in large part for its support for Israel and intelligence help in the War on Terror.

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Clinton To Meet With Libyan Opposition, Will Be Pressed On No-Fly Zone

Alex Wong/Getty Images(PARIS) -- Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is set to meet with representatives of the Libyan opposition Monday night in Paris, where she is attending a G8 ministerial meeting. An opposition spokeswoman tells ABC News that the representatives will press Clinton to increase support for the rebels, including imposing a no-fly zone over Libya.

The United Nations Security Council met Monday and discussed whether to authorize a no-fly zone. Lebanon is drafting a resolution that could be introduced quickly to do just that. Such action, however, might force the hand of the Obama administration, which has been reluctant to impose a no-fly zone. Senior officials met at the White House Monday afternoon to discuss this and other options.

Monday’s meeting will be Clinton’s second with opposition figures. She met last Thursday with former ambassador to Washington Ali Aujali, who has thrown his support behind the budding opposition based in the eastern city of Benghazi and led by the former justice minister. Clinton brought the U.S. ambassador to Libya Gene Cretz, who has been the primary contact with the opposition since the uprising began, to Paris just for this meeting.

It remains unclear if Clinton will use the opportunity to announce the Obama administration’s liaison with the opposition, as the president announced last week.

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Libyan Opposition Moving Closer to Tripoli

Photo Courtesy - Getty Images(GENEVA) -- Secretary of State Hillary Clinton conducted high-level talks in Geneva with foreign ministers from Europe on Monday, pressing for tough sanctions on the Libyan government in an effort to force the ouster of leader Col. Moammar Gadhafi.

The discussions occurred at a meeting of the United Nations Human Rights Council. The European Union also declared sanctions against the North African country, reinforcing the United Nations Security Council's resolution passed against Gadhafi's regime on Saturday.

The first humanitarian aid from the west is on its way to Libya from France. The United States has also pledged to be ready with aid.

The promises come as the opposition appears to be gaining ground in its fight to end Gadhafi's 41-year-rule. The European Union said that Gadhafi has lost control of most of the country's oil and gas fields. Over the weekend, the opposition's control moved closer to Tripoli, Gadhafi's stronghold.

In Zawiyah, just 30 miles west of Tripoli, civilian opponents and some military defectors claim they've been in control for several days. Protesters in the suburbs of Tripoli chanted, '"The blood of martyrs won't go to waste," the BBC reported.

Gadhafi has attempted to appease those living in the capital by offering $400 per family. There were reports of long lines at banks in Tripoli with people seeking the money. Food prices continue to skyrocket with rice prices at $40 for a 10-pound bag.

In exclusive interviews with ABC News' Christiane Amanpour, Gadhafi's sons said their father has no plans to leave Libya. Saif Gadhafi denied reports of helicopter gunships firing on people and reports of Libyan Air Force pilots defecting, jettisoning their planes rather than carry out orders to bomb citizens. When asked about President Obama's call for Col. Gadhafi to step down, Saif Gadhafi responded, "First of all, it's not American business. Do you think this is a solution? Of course not." 

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Hillary Clinton Calls for End to Violence in Bahrain

Photo Courtesy - ABC News(WASHINGTON) -- Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called for an end to violence in Bahrain and for the government there to move towards democratic reform. But in an ABC News interview aired Sunday, she declined to hold Bahrain to the same standard that the Obama administration held Egypt to during the 18 days of protests there.

She warned, speaking generally about the Middle East, that there were dangers in the transition to democracy and that the process could be hijacked. Iran loomed large in Clinton's view of democratic transition. She twice used Iran's 1979 revolution as an example of how a people's movement could result in a non-democratic government.

"We've been very clear from the beginning that we do not want to see any violence. We deplore it. We think it is absolutely unacceptable. We very much want to see the human rights of the people protected including right to assemble, right to express themselves and we want to see reform. And so Bahrain had started on some reform and we want to see them get back to that as quickly as possible."

Pressed on what the consequences might be from the United States if Bahrain continued to violently crack down on protesters, Clinton said the administration’s been clear in its expectations.

"We want to see transparency, accountability," Clinton said. "We deplore violence and we expect that the government will take the steps necessary to try to restore confidence, to reach out and continue the path of reform that they were on."

Bahrain, a Shia-majority country ruled by a Sunni monarch, is an island nation in the Persian Gulf. An essential ally for the United States -- in large measure because of its key geographic position near Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Iran -- Bahrain is home to the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet. One-fifth of the world's oil supply passes through the Persian Gulf.

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US Calls for Restraint Following Violence in Bahrain

Photo Courtesy - Joseph Eid/AFP/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- The U.S. is appealing to the government of Bahrain to show restraint and usher in political reform after security forces used violence to break up pro-democracy protests, leaving at least five people dead.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made the appeal to the Bahraini foreign minister Thursday, hours after military police roused sleeping protesters in the middle of Manama's main square by firing tear gas, stun grenades and rubber bullets.

Clinton, who spoke directly with Sheikh Khaled bin Ahmed al-Khalifa, cautioned the Bahraini government against disrupting funerals of the slain demonstrators planned for Friday.

The Obama administration is keeping a watchful eye on the fluid situation in Bahrain, which is the home of the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet and a strong ally of Saudi Arabia, another Arab nation that may soon experience the anti-government protests that have spread rapidly throughout the Middle East over the past month.

President Obama has taken an even more measured approach to the situation in Bahrain than he did with Egypt, being careful not to overtly criticize its ruling monarchy.

The president's message thus far to Middle East allies is for these autocratic regimes to begin instituting democratic reforms before they're forced to do so.

In Bahrain, opposition forces are calling for the prime minister to step down, as well as demanding improvements in quality of life issues such as wages and housing.  As in Egypt and Tunisia, the protesters have been spurred on by bloggers using social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, which are more difficult for the government to suppress.

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Secretary Hillary Clinton Makes Unannounced Stop in Yemen

Photo Courtesy - ABC News(SANA'A, Yemen) -- In an unannounced visit, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton landed in Sana’a, Yemen on Tuesday where she met with President Ali Adbullah Saleh for roughly two hours. It was the first visit by a U.S. secretary of state to Yemen in more than a generation.

After their meeting, Secretary Clinton said the U.S. is “committed to a broad relationship between our two countries. We face a common threat posed by the terrorists and al Qaeda, but our partnership goes beyond counterterrorism.”

President Saleh has expressed concern in the past that the U.S. is “more interested in fighting al Qaeda than in helping the Yemeni people.”

The U.S. has sought for Saleh to pursue al Qaeda more aggressively. Last month, President Obama’s counterterrorism advisor John Brennan called Saleh to urge him to take more forceful action against al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) to thwart attacks in Yemen and the U.S.

AQAP has been responsible for at least two attempted attacks against the U.S. in the last year: the attempted Christmas Day 2009 bombing of a Northwest Airlines flight by Umar Farouq Abdulmutallab and an attempt to send air cargo packages containing explosives to the U.S.

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Secretary Clinton Meets Saudi King and Lebanese Prime Minister in NYC

Photo Courtesy - Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was in New York City Friday afternoon to meet with Saudi King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz, who was recently discharged from the hospital and is recovering from surgery.
 
“We are delighted that the king, a valued friend and ally, is ready to receive visitors, and the secretary will wish him a rapid recovery,” her spokesman said Friday.
 
The meeting comes ahead of Clinton’s visit to the Arabian peninsula. She departs Saturday for the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Qatar.
 
Clinton also met in New York Friday with Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri.

The State Department Friday said Clinton met with Hariri to “reiterate our support for a sovereign, stable and politically independent Lebanon.”

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Clinton: Iran Nuke Meetings 'A Good Start'; No Insight into Mottaki Dismissal

Photo Courtesy - Getty Images(QUEBEC, Canada) -- Speaking in Canada on Monday, where she met her Canadian and Mexican counterparts, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was asked about the dismissal of her Iranian counterpart, Manouchehr Mottaki. Asked if it’s because he snubbed her after she tried to greet him at an event in Bahrain, Clinton laughed loudly and said, “I have no idea.”
 
“Our relationship toward Iran is not toward any individual, it is toward the country, the government which is complex and challenging to deal with because it is not just one channel, there are several different channels because of the way their [government] is established. So I don’t really have any insight or comment on the report that I also learned of today,” she said.
 
She took the opportunity to comment on last week’s nuclear talks between the group of world powers known as the P5+1 and Iran, calling it “a good start.”
 
“The recent meeting in Geneva of the P-5 plus one was a good start. It was just that; it wasn't more than that. But it was a good start to a return to a serious negotiation between Iran and the international community, and they agreed on a second meeting in January. We remain committed to pursuing every diplomatic avenue available to us and our international partners to persuade Iran to forego a nuclear-weapons program, and we remain convinced that that is not only in the interests of peace and stability in the Gulf -- and indeed in the wider region and world -- but it's also in the best interests of Iran. So whether one person or another is foreign minister is not as important as to what the policy of the Iranian government is in dealing with the international community on this very important matter,” she said.

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