Europe

British politician Harriet Harman, deputy leader of Britain's Labour Party and minister for women and equality, wants Secretary Clinton and German Chancellor Angela Merkel to join her in group of women leaders who will meet regularly to advance gender equality. In a speech to EU leaders, Harman said, "'There is, as yet, no international architecture which serves effectively to bring together women leaders who are working for progress along the same lines in each of our own countries. We need to look at how this could be done."

Photo: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

Yesterday evening at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Secretary Clinton once again declared that the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall should serve as a "call to action" to "advance freedom" for the millions of people around the world who still face obstacles and lack opportunity. In her remarks, she said:

Two decades later, we remember. But it is also a call to action. There are still millions across our world who are separated -- maybe not by walls, maybe not by barbed wire, although that still exists -- but who are separated from loved ones, who are kept down and behind, unable to fulfill their own destinies. So as beneficiaries of this great bequest we inherited in 1989, those of us gathered here tonight, leaders and citizens alike, we must pledge ourselves to work together to advance freedom beyond its current frontiers so that people everywhere are afforded the opportunities to pursue their dreams and live up to their God-given potential.

Above: Clinton reviews an honor guard carrying torches at Bellevue Palace -- the home of the German president -- in Berlin. 

Below: Clinton appears on the big screens that flanked the Brandenburg Gate yesterday. In front are some of the 1,000 giant dominoes that were toppled to symbolize the fall of the Berlin Wall. (Check out this cool video of the dominoes falling.)

Photos, top to bottom: Andreas Rentz/Getty Images, WOLFGANG RATTAY/AFP/Getty Images

It looks cold and rainy in Berlin right now, but Clinton is there in full force:

Clinton delivers a speech in front of the Brandenburg Gate during celebrations marking the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown (left), French President Nicolas Sarkozy, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, German President Horst Köhler, Berlin's Mayor Klaus Wowereit, and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton attend celebrations near the Brandenburg Gate for the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Approximately 1,000 giant foam dominoes, painted by children and artists from around the world, are meant to symbolically represent the fall of communism across Eastern Europe and are the highlight of the celebrations.

Woman power: Earlier in the day, Merkel (the most powerful woman in the world) greeted Clinton (the 36th most powerful, according to Forbes) prior to bilateral talks. 

Photos, top to bottom: WOLFGANG RATTAY/AFP/Getty Images, Hennig Schacht-Pool/Getty Images, MICHAEL KAPPELER/AFP/Getty Images

Last night at a gala banquet in Berlin, Secretary Clinton received an Atlantic Council Freedom Award on behalf of the American people. Above, she holds the award while posing with former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, an Atlantic Council board member who introduced Clinton.

In delivering the evening's keynote address, Clinton said the festivities surrounding the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall "should be a call to action, not just a commemoration of past actions. That call should spur us to continue our cooperation and to look for new ways that we can meet the challenges that freedom faces now."

She went on to say:

We need to form an even stronger partnership to bring down the walls of the 21st century and to confront those who hide behind them: the suicide bombers, those who murder and maim girls whose only wish is to go to school, leaders who choose their own fortunes over the fortunes of their people."

Very inspiring words indeed -- calling for people to use the spirit that animated the wall's fall to fight terrorism and authoritarian regimes. Hopefully it will move people to action, but Thomas Carothers, of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, is skeptical that Europeans will buy into the Bush-era "trope" of linking the Cold War and extremism. He told Agence France-Presse via e-mail:

Facing difficult pressures on Afghanistan, the Obama administration marked the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall by revving up a rhetorical trope that President Bush favored. … Europeans and others never found it very convincing under Bush. … I suspect they won't like it much better now."

But between Clinton's star power and President Obama's hope-oriented charisma, the new U.S. administration has an inspiring and influential presence that Bush never had. Sometimes you just need the right messenger for your message.

Photo: JOHN MACDOUGALL/AFP/Getty Images

Just for fun, here's an edibly sweet version of Bill Clinton, who was in Pristina, Kosovo, yesterday for the unveiling of a larger-than-life statue of himself on a boulevard named after himself. Kosovo's ethnic Albanian majority holds Clinton in high esteem for his role in the 1999 NATO bombing campaign against Yugoslavia, which helped stop the Serbian forces' crackdown on ethnic Albanians.

Photo: Armend Nimani/AFP/Getty Images

An article in the Belfast Telegraph has accused Secretary Clinton of a fib that has "echoes" of her "blooper" last year when she said she dodged sniper fire in Bosnia in 1996.

In a speech in Northern Ireland last week, Clinton said, "When Bill and I first came to Belfast, we stayed at the Europa Hotel, as I have again this time, even though then there were sections boarded up because of damage from bombs."

The article states that the last successful bomb attack on the Europa Hotel was in 1993 and that renovations to the hotel, seen at left, were completed in January 1994, 22 months before the Clinton's 1995 visit. Hotel sources told the Telegraph that there's "no way" any boards were visible during the Clintons' stay at the hotel, which has been described as the "most-bombed hotel in Europe."

Clinton's spokesman Ian Kelly told the Telegraph: 

I think what Secretary Clinton was trying to do was draw contrasts between contemporary Belfast, which I know has changed hugely from the Belfast of 1995.

"We [are] not talking about the same thing [as misspeaking about Bosnia]. Secretary Clinton was simply contrasting."

There might be clarifying information we don't know about -- maybe Clinton confused the hotel with another boarded building -- but it sounds like she got carried away and embellished during her speech. I'm willing to forgive her, but I hope it doesn't happen again.

Photo: thumbnail by Joe Fox/Getty Images

Secretary Clinton, whose husband Bill helped broker the 1998 Good Friday agreement, continued the peace process today with a talk to the Northern Ireland Assembly. She encouraged the Catholic and Protestant lawmakers to strengthen their power-sharing partnership, stating that it shows that even the most acrimonious conflicts can be reconciled through patient compromise.

She also met today with Northern Ireland's first minister, Peter Robinson, above left, and Martin McGuinness, the deputy first minister.

In an editorial titled, "Mrs Clinton's Visit Very Welcome," the Belfast Telegraph lauded Clinton's involvement in the peace process -- dating back to her time as first lady -- and stated, "Hillary Clinton deserves our thanks for all she has done, and is still doing, to make a permanent peace possible."

(Sounds like Clinton's been doing a lot more to broker peace lately than the Nobel-winning Obama.)

Photo: Paul Faith - WPA Pool/Getty Images

Later today, Clinton heads to Europe, where she'll visit the following places and do the following things:

Zurich, Switzerland: She will attend the signing of two protocols between Turkey and Armenia that pave the way toward normalization of their relations.

London: Clinton will meet with senior British officials to discuss important issues such as Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan.

Dublin, Ireland: She will reaffirm the United States' commitment to Ireland during meetings with senior Irish officials.

Belfast, Northern Ireland: Clinton will emphasize the United States' support for political progress and economic recovery in the area.

Moscow: As part of her efforts to reset relations with Russia, she'll meet with President Dmitry Medvedev and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to discuss a successor agreement to START, the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty. They'll also discuss Afghanistan, Iran, the Middle East, and North Korea.

Kazan, Russia: Clinton will visit Kazan, the capital of Tatarstan, to talk with local officials and religious leaders about promoting tolerance and interfaith dialogue. The city has a large Muslim population, and yesterday, in this clumsy exchange, State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said Kazan "really shows that the Russian Federation is a multiethnic country."

Bon voyage, Secretary Clinton!

Photo: BAY ISMOYO/AFP/Getty Images