Clinton says would be active in Mideast peace

By Jeff Mason

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton would be "fully engaged and involved" in the Middle East as U.S. president and would maintain a full-time presence there to spur the peace process, the New York senator told Reuters.

Clinton, whose husband former President Bill Clinton took a personal but ultimately unsuccessful role in negotiating a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, said the administration of George W. Bush had committed "sins of omission and commission" by not being more engaged.

"I believe that it's important for the United States to maintain an active and involved role," she said in an interview on Sunday.

"I think one of the reasons why we are seeing a very dangerous situation there now is because the Bush administration backed off from staying involved and, where they were involved, much of their advice and proposals were counterproductive."

Clinton, who is competing with Illinois Sen. Barack Obama to be the Democratic presidential nominee in the November election, has argued that she is stronger on foreign policy and has a better chance of beating presumptive Republican nominee John McCain, a senator from Arizona.

Clinton said it was up to Israelis and Palestinians to determine what role in the peace process should be played by Hamas, an Islamist group officially committed to Israel's destruction, which won elections in Gaza in 2006 but seized control of the strip last summer amid factional fighting.

"I would be guided by the government and the people of Israel and what their decisions are with respect to their interests, their security," she said.

"Certainly I would be very supportive of a productive role on the part of the Palestinian Authority."

Clinton, mindful of the importance of the Jewish vote for her presidential bid, declined to say whether she would press Israel to make further concessions over housing settlements and said the next president would be able to get a better sense of what needed to be done to bring peace to the region.

"Once we get back to a president who is fully engaged and involved and doesn't walk away or impose unworkable conditions, we will, you know, have a much better idea about what is part of bringing the parties to some resolution," she said.

Asked whether she would be "fully engaged and involved," Clinton said, "Yes."

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President Clinton's 2000 effort to broker a peace agreement ended in failure and a violent Palestinian uprising ensued.

The former first lady often tells audiences on the campaign trail she would make her husband a goodwill ambassador to foreign countries if she wins, but she declined to say in the interview if the Middle East would be one of his destinations.

"I don't know (whether) that would be where he would be sent," she said.