Hillary Clinton Resigns As US Secretary Of State

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is leaving office with a slap at critics of the Obama administration's handling of the September attack on a US diplomatic mission in Libya. She told The Associated Press that critics of the administration's handling of the attack don't live in an "evidence-based world" and their refusal to "accept the facts" is unfortunate and regrettable for the political system.
Today, former Massachusetts Senator John Kerry will be sworn in as Clinton's successor.
In her last one-on-one interview before she steps down on
Friday, Clinton told the AP that the attack in Benghazi was the
low point of her time as America's top diplomat. But she
suggested that the furor over the assault would not affect
whether she runs for president in 2016.
Although she insisted that she has not decided what her future holds, she said she "absolutely" still plans to make a difference on issues she cares about in speeches and in a sequel to her 2003 memoir, "Living History," that will focus largely on her years as secretary of state.
Clinton spoke to the AP Thursday in her outer office on the
seventh floor of the State Department less than 24 hours before she walks out for a final time as boss. She was relaxed but clearly perturbed by allegations from Republican lawmakers and commentators that the administration had intentionally misled the public about whether the attack was a protest gone awry or a terrorist attack, or intentionally withheld additional security for diplomatic personnel in Libya knowing that an attack could happen.
An independent panel she convened to look into the incident
was scathing in its criticism of the State Department and singled out four officials for serious management and leadership failures. But it also determined that there was no
guarantee that extra personnel could have prevented the deaths of the US ambassador to Libya, Chris Stevens, and three other Americans. Clinton herself was not blamed, although she has said she accepted responsibility for the situation.
Clinton faced a barrage of hostile questions about Benghazi
from Republican lawmakers when she testified before Congress recently in appearances that were delayed from December because of illness. Afterward, some lawmakers continued to accuse her and the administration of withholding evidence.
Clinton said she refused to be discouraged by the fact that
critics "are never going to accept the facts and the limitations
of the facts." Because of that, she said, the partisan divide should not dissuade anyone with a cause from getting involved in politics and she hinted strongly that a divisive atmosphere would not stop her in any future endeavor.

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