Hillary on diplomacy

There is some merit to candidate Clinton's argument that her vote to authorize force was a vote for diplomacy. The threat of force is a is versatile and powerful diplomatic tool. The use of force is generally the result of failed policy and the choice of leaders unschooled in statecraft. When congress authorized President Bush to use force against Iraq, that authorization could have been used to great effect. The invasion made a potent American diplomatic tool flaccid.