John Kerry to replace Hillary Clinton?

John Kerry was answering questions from congressmen for almost four hours during the hearings about a new candidate for the post, which is now taken by Hillary Clinton. The hearings were interrupted after a woman called to stop the war in the Middle East, the Huffington Post reports.

Photo: AP photo

John Kerry, a former presidential candidate, a Senator from Massachusetts, was nominated as a candidate for the post of Secretary of State by Barack Obama on December 21.

The questions to the Senator covered a wide variety of issues - from his erstwhile support of ​Bashar Assad to the idea to appoint former Republican Senator Chuck Hagel for the position of Defense Secretary.

Remembering his father, foreign service officer Richard Kerry, who died in 2000, tears could be clearly visible in John Kerry's eyes. "If you confirm me, I would take office as secretary proud that the Senate is in my blood - but equally proud that so, too, is the foreign service," he said, referring to sacrifices that his father had made in the name of the nation.

He also spoke of the need to extend the U.S. influence on the African continent, provide support to Afghan President Hamid Karzai and assist him in retaining power after the coalition forces leave the country entirely, most likely in 2014. Kerry added that he no longer supported Assad, because in the past the Syrian leader demonstrated predisposition to the West, but those days were long gone. In addition, Kerry promised to improve relations with Russia.

In the middle of the hearings, a young woman was heard screaming from the back rows of the conference room, where the hearings were being held. The woman shouted that she could no longer tolerate her friends dying in the Middle East. She was immediately escorted from the room.

Judging by Kerry's responses, his policies will not be radically different from those of Hillary Clinton. According to him, he will do his best to stop Iran's nuclear program and try to maintain diplomatic relations with Tehran.