Clinton convenes mass meeting of US ambassadors

Top envoys from nearly all of America's 260 embassies to meet at the State Department to discuss Egypt crisis, WikiLeaks.

311_ Hillary Clinton hand gesture (photo credit: Associated Press)
311_ Hillary Clinton hand gesture
(photo credit: Associated Press)
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is convening an unprecedented mass meeting of US ambassadors.
The top envoys from nearly all of America's 260 embassies, consulates and other posts in more than 180 countries will be gathering at the State Department beginning on Monday. Officials say it's the first such global conference.
RELATED:Clinton calls for ‘transition to democracy’ in Egypt'We urge Egyptian forces to show restraint in violence'
The gathering comes at a time of crisis in Egypt that could reshape dynamics in the Middle East, fallout from leaked diplomatic documents and congressional calls for sweeping cuts in foreign aid.
Although the meeting has been called to discuss US foreign policy priorities for 2011, officials say Clinton plans to meet personally with ambassadors from front-line states to hear about developments on the ground. Officials also expect that specific concerns about the WikiLeaks revelations will be raised.
On Sunday, Clinton stressed that the US wanted to see “real democracy” emerge in Egypt, “not a democracy for six months or a year and then evolving into essentially a military dictatorship or a so-called democracy that then leads to what we saw in Iran.”