As events keep taking a darker turn, with Israel’s “all out war” against Gaza, some may feel relief that the second 3am phone call will go to incoming secretary of state, Hillary Clinton herself.

I know I am.

We know Clinton is tough and indefatigable but the really good news, is that, by all accounts we can look forward to a much more muscular and fully engaged State Department staffed by a team of veteran negotiators and peace makers.

Clinton’s just appointed deputies – former deputy national security adviser James Steinberg and ex-budget director Jacob Lew – both served in the Clinton White House.  The State Department will be able to leverage the benefit of their experience and the wisdom and skills that come with it.

The Clinton State Department which is emerging will have a larger budget and, in line with Obama’s thinking, an emphasis on diplomacy and “soft power” to achieve the United States‘ goals. Most of us know that Clinton, like her husband, is a policy wonk.  So the “seat of the pants” approach, sometimes characterized as “cowboy diplomacy” which has prevailed at times in the past, will be replaced by thoughtful planning and experts on the spot.

According to The New York Times, Clinton, if confirmed, will send experienced peace negotiators to global hotspots.  One such name being floated is Middle East expert and peace negotiator Dennis Ross, “a highly skilled diplomat who was U.S. point man on the peace process in both the George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton administrations” during which he brokered several successful agreements and accords to end active military engagement. “Veteran diplomat Richard Holbrooke and Martin Indyk, a former United States ambassador to Israel are also being floated as trouble shooters.”

There is no saying what the final outcome will be in the current war between Israel and Gaza or if it will expand to the entire region and draw in all of Hamas.  No one knows if a peace, if it comes, will hold, or for how long.  But I think many of us are relieved to know that there will be experienced people at the helm who are truly engaged in the process, not on a quest to expand the rights of the executive branch as Vice President Cheney was said to be, and a President who was prepared to follow him into the jaws of hell, not to mention Iraq and the abuses of Guantanamo Bay.

At long last, all of us may have a State Department we can believe in.  I’m marking the days until January 20,2009 on my calendar.  Aren’t you?

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