Slaughter '80 'labored' over Wednesday's big Clinton address

Anne-Marie Slaughter '80 will have something of a coming out party this afternoon with a big speech given by her boss.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will give a long-anticipated address to the Council on Foreign Relations in what Politico.com called a "muscular first address" in her new job.

Slaughter was the speech's primary author, Politico reported Tuesday morning:

"One official said the speech has been long in the making and has been labored over by the Director of Policy Planning Anne-Marie Slaughter -- a former academic who has emerged as a key Clinton policy adviser -- along with speechwriter Lissa Muscantine."

In the address, Clinton will speak (and Slaughter theoretically wrote) of a "clear-eyed" US of A:

"You should know that our focus on diplomacy and development is not an alternative to our national security arsenal," she will say to those she'll call 'foes and would-be foes.' "You should never see America's willingness to talk as a sign of weakness to be exploited. We will not hesitate to defend our friends and ourselves vigorously when necessary with the world's strongest military. This is not an option we seek. Nor is it a threat; it is a promise to the American people."

Clinton will highlight six top priorities:
* Reverse the spread of nuclear weapons
* Isolate and defeat terorists
* A comprehensive peace in the Middle East
* Global economic recovery and growth
* Combating climate change and increasing energy security
* Standing up for human rights

HRC has been busy since the Obama administration took office on January 20th. She's traveled 100K miles and been to 24 countries (some of them two or there times). In the near future, she's headed to Afghanistan, Pakistan and Russia, as well as countries in Africa and Asia.