Clinton defends support of Arab democracies

WASHINGTON -- Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, addressing criticism of the Obama administration's handling of a deadly attack on a U.S. consulate in Libya, Friday defended the need for American diplomats and aid workers in the Arab world's young democracies, even amid a growing threat from al-Qaida spinoffs.

"We will not retreat," she said in a speech at a Washington think tank.

"We will never prevent every act of violence or terrorism, or achieve perfect security," Clinton said. "Our people can't live in bunkers and do their jobs. But it is our solemn responsibility to constantly improve, to reduce the risks our people face and make sure they have the resources they need to do their jobs."

Her address at the Center for Strategic and International Studies comes as Republicans seized on the Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, as a sign of what they say is the administration's foreign policy failures.

Clinton said she wanted to find out exactly what happened in Benghazi more than anyone, but did not go into the specifics of the consulate's security. Instead, she focused on the larger question of why the U.S. diplomats were stationed in the Libyan city. "Diplomacy, by its very nature, is often practiced in dangerous places," she said.

Twenty-one months into the Arab Spring, Clinton stressed that the promise of new democracies in an area of the world long dominated by autocratic rulers has not been lost. She said America needed to keep fostering the elected governments and free citizens who, she hoped, would define the region's future.

"For the United States, supporting democratic transitions is not a matter of idealism. It is a strategic necessity," she said. "We will not pull back our support for emerging democracies when the going gets tough. That would be a costly strategic mistake that would undermine both our interests and our values."

In her address, which focused on North Africa, Clinton stressed that extremists were trying to hijack democratic transitions under way.