Washington, D.C. ? Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton pledged Friday to overhaul U.S. foreign aid programs to increase assistance and give civilians a greater role in its delivery. But she warned that selling the public on the idea would be hard in troubled economic times.

“I believe in development and I believe with all my heart that it truly is an equal partner along with defense and diplomacy” in advancing foreign policy goals, she told a crowd of several thousand employees of the U.S. Agency for International Development at the agency’s headquarters.

An advocate of what she calls “smart power” — combining diplomatic efforts with aid projects to promote democracy and improve America’s image abroad — Clinton assured her audience that she would be making the case to give them greater authority and resources that during the Bush administration had largely shifted to the military.