The Libyan war: Clinton’s role

U.S. officials and key allies are offering a detailed new defense of Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s pivotal role in the approach that led to Moammar Gaddafi’s fall — both within a divided Cabinet and a fragile, assembled-on-the-fly international alliance.

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President Obama makes a statement on Libya with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton at his side on Feb. 23 at the White House, before he sent Clinton to Geneva for a U.N. Human Rights Council meeting on the emerging Libyan crisis.

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Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is seen on a TV screen, speaking at a Feb. 28 session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva. Clinton was initially skeptical of intervention in Libya but became a forceful advocate within the Obama administration of offering military aid to the rebels.

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From left, Japanese Foreign Minister Takeaki Matsumoto, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe and British Foreign Secretary William Hague pose for a photo on March 14 in Paris, while foreign ministers of the Group of Eight were discussing whether to impose a no-fly zone to thwart Moammar Gaddafi’s efforts to crush a revolt.

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At the Capitol, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, center, leaves a March 30 briefing for senators on the Libyan crisis. Clinton faced congressional skepticism of whether the Libyan intervention was justified or would benefit U.S. interests. In mid-summer, lawmakers threatened to cut off funding for military operations in Libya.

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Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton at an April 6 news conference at the State Department. When Italy threatened to prevent NATO from using its territory to stage strikes against Moammar Gaddafi’s forces, Clinton spent hours on the phone and in person with Frattini and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi , keeping Italy in the alliance. Italy eventually played a crucial role in providing air bases.

BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI / Agence France-Presse via Getty Images

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, center, and U.S. Ambassador to Germany Philip Murphy, second from left, attend bilateral talks with German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle at a meeting of NATO foreign ministers on April 15 in Berlin. U.S. and allied officials say Clinton used a mixture of political pragmatism and tenacity to referee spats among NATO partners, secure crucial backing from Arab countries and provide aid to Libyan rebels at key points.

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Secretary of State Hillary Clinton participates in a working-lunch meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Berlin on April 14. During the NATO air campaign, Clinton had to deal not only with NATO spats but Arab threats to withdraw from the military coalition.

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German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle, left, and NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen at the April 14 meeting of NATO foreign ministers on Libya.

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Secretary of State Hillary Clinton with Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini in Rome on May 5. Although Italy was angered by France’s early start on the air campaign, Clinton kept Italy in the alliance with frequent meetings and phone calls to Frattini and Italian Prime Miinister Silvio Berlusconi.

Giorgio Cosulich / GETTY IMAGES

Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, right,with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at a meeting on May 5 in Rome. Italy provided crucial air bases for the campaign that helped Libyan rebels topple Moammar Gaddafi.

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Turkish President Abdullah Gul , right, speaks with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Istanbul on July 15. Clinton worked to dispel suspicions on the part of Turkey and Italy that France, which kicked off the air campaign early, had “hidden agendas,” as Gul put it.

Saul Loeb / Pool/Associated Press

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrives at a Sept. 1 summit in Paris to discuss Libya’s future after the Gaddafi era. Libyan opposition and officials of 60 countries and international agencies met to map out plans for postwar economic and political reconstruction.

LIONEL BONAVENTURE / Agence France-Presse via Getty Images

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton talks with Libyan Transitional National Council Chairman Mustafa Abdel Jalil, center, and TNC Prime Minister Mahmoud Jibril in Paris on Sept. 1. Clinton and French President Nicolas Sarkozy met before the summit to discuss Libya’s future as the rebels came closer to victory.

EVAN VUCCI / Agence France-Presse via Getty Images

French President Nicolas Sarkozy, center, arrives for a meeting on Libya at the United Nations on Sept. 20; behind him is Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. While Sarkozy and British Prime Minister David Cameron were cheered during visits to Libya last month, Clinton was confronted during a recent Tripoli visit with questions about why the United States had not done more to aid the Libyan rebels.

STAN HONDA / Agence France-Presse via Getty Images

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton meets with Libyan interim premier Mahmoud Jibril in Tripoli on Oct. 18. When the Libyan conflict seemed stalemated and the Libyan rebels were almost out of money, Clinton convinced President Obama to grant full diplomatic recognition to the rebels, a move that allowed the Libyans access to billions of dollars from Moammar Gaddafi’s frozen accounts.

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Secretary of State Hillary Clinton checks messages before a flight on a military aircraft to Tripoli on Oct. 18. Perceptions that the United States took a back seat to Europe in the Libyan conflict led to a muted welcome for Clinton in Libya.

KEVIN LAMARQUE / Agence France-Presse via Getty Images

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton looks at an x-ray from a wounded Libyan rebel during a visit to a Tripoli hospital on Oct. 18. “We need to assess where we are, what we accomplished together, what the costs were,” Clinton said of the Libyan operation.

KEVIN LAMARQUE / Agence France-Presse via Getty Images

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton poses for a photo during a visit to a hospital in Tripoli on Oct. 18. Of the Libyan campaign, Clinton said, “We set into motion a policy that was on the right side of history, on the right side of our values, on the right side of our strategic interests in the region.”

KEVIN LAMARQUE / Agence France-Presse via Getty Images

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