I've been a Clinton Kremlinologist for years, and although there are many armor-plated guardians of Clinton's inner circle, Huma Abedin has been the toughest to crack. No exaggeration: with Clinton heading to State, Abedin is going to be a major force in American diplomacy for the next several years.
Abedin was one of the First Lady's travelling personal assistants during the second term, but hasn't been only that for years Formally, she is a Senior Advisor to Senator Clinton, and was her Travelling Chief of Staff during the campaign. In that latter role, she was in charge of the roadshow, one of the few parts of the campaign that met with near universal praise, both internally and externally.
She is part of the crucial connective tissue between HRC and her far flung world of supporters, friends, staff, former staff, advisors, donors, on and on. Not a gatekeeper, because she is famous for her openess and sharing even the smallest details with HRC to keep her fully briefed, and manages some of the biggest egos around with diplomatic aplomb (I can only imagine.. "Hi Huma, it's Dick Holbrooke and I REALLY need to talk to Hillary about this Jim Steinberg thing")
The totality of Huma is much more in line with the mythical "Aide de Camp" of old (people like David Petraeus were at one point someone else's Aide de Camp, and we have no doubt that Huma will one day have her very own)
People who know her say she is a full and crucial member of HRC's state department and she will be playing a big role at Foggy Bottom - and anyone there or elsewhere that short changes her as a "personal assistant" does so at their own risk.
She is also a Muslim who speaks fluent Arabic --her mother runs a university in Saudi Arabia -- and brings that perspective on a complex part of the world to HRC's sphere. it's not uncommon to see Huma on Bill Clinton's important trips to the region, because he too values her in that way.
By way of an update, here are the others who will play significant roles in the Clinton-to-State transition. Call them the "No Drama Mama" bunch.
Suzy George, a former top aide to M. Albright. Tamera Luzzatto, Clinton's Senate chief of staff, will play a large role in Clinton's confirmation hearings. Capricia Marshall, who directs Clinton's political operation, is focusing on doing as much as possible to rid Clinton's accounts of debt -- Joe Biden helpfully used Barack Obama's e-mail list to ask for help last night -- and the overall disposition of Clinton's three political entities: her Senate re-election account, her PAC, which filed last night (and had a record month) and her primary campaign account.
Jake Sullivan, who served as HRC's debate coordinator for the 23 in the primary (and when was integrated into Team Obama for the genreal election debates), will be working hand in hand on confirmation and substantive state matters with Andrew Shapiro, Clinton's chief foreign policy and defense adviser. Democratic strategist Kiki McLean is also a top member of the team.
Anyone who ever interacted with Clinton's office about foreign policy questions -- especially Iraq -- was subjected to the one-two combo of Shapiro and senior adviser Philippe Reines, who've known each other for a decade and have worked for Clinton for 15 years.
At the top of the food chain are Maggie Williams, former Clinton campaign manager, and Cheryl Mills, Clinton's longtime attorney and the former White House counsel.
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