Kerry calls for non-military thinking on US foreign policy
25 Jan 2013
John Kerry, in line to be the next US secretary of state, today told a US Senate committee vetting him for the job that American foreign policy requires ''fresh thinking'' as it is more than just drones and troops.
"American foreign policy is not defined by drones and deployments alone," he told the Senate foreign relations committee, of which he has been a member for 29 years, and which he has also chaired.
"American foreign policy is also defined by food security and energy security, humanitarian assistance, the fight against disease and the push for development, as much as it is by any single counter-terrorism initiative."
The committee must now decide whether or not to confirm Kerry in the post of America's top diplomat.
Kerry has been tapped by President Barack Obama to take over from Hillary Clinton, who is leaving office after a four-year term.
Clinton, along with veteran Senator John McCain, stepped up to introduce Kerry and recommend him as the next US secretary of state. It is a post he has long coveted, and is more than likely to get.
