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Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright visits Obama, reflects on past, discusses future

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Written by Ilana Diamant, The Eagle Senior Witer

It really is not often our school experiences such an honored visit as that of former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. Secretary Albright worked under President Bill Clinton, and she was the first woman to hold that office in government. While many expect a politician to be dull and boring, she was nice, funny, and engaging. “The word ‘politician’ has a bad meaning now.” She said. “It simply means a concern for the government.” I was honored to have the opportunity to ask her exclusive questions about a variety of topics.

The Clinton years were a tumultuous period. I asked her about the toughest challenge during this time. She replied that it was stopping ethnic cleansing in Kosovo. “People began calling it ‘Albright’s War,” she says. “But it needed military action. I had an issue with getting the rest of the government on board, and getting NATO.” Ethnic cleansing is systemic mass murder, in Kosovo, it was of Muslims. “When we finally succeeded, and Kosovo natives came back home, there were a lot of little girls named Madeleine!”

She’s known for being assertive and outspoken, both during her time in office and after. When I asked her about the foreign affairs that need US involvement now, she promptly said, “Everything. The US needs to be engaged. We have to be careful that people know about foreign issues.” She calls the US the “indispensable nation,”  because other countries need us. She says a main concern is fighting terrorism without creating more terrorists.

She was a key player in negotiations in the Arab-Israeli conflict. I asked her thoughts on it now. She replied that she is an “optimist who worries a lot.” She believes strongly in a two state solution, where Israel is recognized by Arab nations as a legitimate nation and Palestinians get their own peaceful state. She hopes for peace talks to come back as soon as possible.

The last question I asked her was, “Was there a sense of satisfaction or achievement in being the first woman in that position? “There is.” She said, smiling. She was proud to represent the US. “I loved being involved. I like knowing that my name will be in history books.” She told us a charming story of her granddaughter asking her mother, “What’s the big deal with Grandma Maddy being Secretary of State? Only girls are Secretary of State!” She’s happy that we live in a generation where this is a belief.

She was wonderful to meet and wonderful to talk to. She told us that we are the future of America. “Sorry for screwing up the world for you all.” She said to us, recognizing that earlier generations have made the world harder to fix. But she has hope that as long as we stay involved and we can maintain relations with countries, the US will remain “the indispensable nation.” She is someone that everyone should look up to.