Video: Clinton Warns Iran, China, Latin America at State Department Town Hall Meeting

Full Video of Hillary Clinton Speech to State Department Town Hall Meeting

Earlier this week, it was "engaging" Hillary, setting out the American desire to work with partners and negotiate with former foes. On Thursday, it was "power politics" Hillary, making sure leaders such as Afghanistan's Hamid Karzai knew where they stood with Washington. And on Friday, it was "get tough" Hillary, strapping on her shoulder pads for a contest with Beijing and Tehran in Latin America.

Secretary of State Clinton told a meeting of State Department officers:

What we are doing hasn't worked very well and in fact, if you look at the gains, particularly in Latin American, that Iran is making and China is making, it is quite disturbing.

Of course, there will be political and economic competition, even between the closest of allies, but Clinton whipped out some Cold War memories to warn of a new Axis of Challenge:

We are looking at how to deal with [Nicaraguan President Daniel] Ortega. The Iranians are building a huge embassy in Managua. You can only imagine what it's for.

This seems to be a bit of posturing, balancing President Obama's recent appearance at the Summit of the Americas, but it does raise the question: if Washington wants to frame relations with Latin America as a battle with outside powers, how exactly does it propose to wage the political contest?