US secretary of state-designate Hillary Rodham Clinton called yesterday for a "smart power" strategy in the Middle East that goes beyond the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to address other pressing issues like Iran's nuclear program.

While offering no specific new peace proposal, Clinton spoke confidently of president-elect Barack Obama's intentions to renew US leadership in the world and to strengthen US diplomacy.

"As intractable as the Middle East's problems may seem and many presidents, including my husband, have spent years trying to help work out a resolution we cannot give up on peace," the former first lady told her confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.