TIME Managing Editor Richard Stengel accompanied Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on her recent trip to Libya, Oman, Afghanistan and Pakistan. On Oct. 19, in the course of reporting for TIME’s cover story, which is now available online to subscribers, he conducted a wide-ranging interview with her, discussing among other things, the Middle East, China and American exceptionalism. A transcript of most of that conversation follows. Well, thank you so much for this. Let’s start with the trip. Yes. So I thought your remarks in Libya were very upbeat, very optimistic. Is what we did in Libya, is that a model for U.S. engagement going into the future? Well, let me just take a step back and put Libya into a context that I think answers the question. Part of my mission has been to make it clear that American leadership was back. What I found when I became Secretary of State was a lot of doubts and a lot of concerns and fears from friends, allies, around the world. And so part of what I have tried to do as Secretary of State is to reassert American leadership, but to recognize that in 21st century terms we have to lead differently than the way we historically have done. (COVER STORY: Hillary Clinton and the Rise of Smart Power) And it might seem a little bit unusual at first to understand that my goal is to assert our leadership in the most values-centered way, using the new tools and techniques available for diplomacy and development, so-called smart power, to build more durable coalitions and networks of which we are — into which we are imbedded. And it is one of my goals that we will have, to a significant extent, changed the way we do business and more smartly align our leadership needs today with the way that we assert our power. So that means going to Asia first because that’s the land of opportunity, not just the land of threats. And obviously, the previous nearly a decade was focused … Continue reading Q&A: Hillary Clinton on Libya, China, the Middle East and Barack Obama