Washington  - US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Tuesday the United States has "a lot of damage to repair" after eight years of the Bush administration.

Speaking to reporters at the State Department, Clinton, who has talked to more than three dozen foreign counterparts over the phone since taking office last week, said the world has expressed an appreciation for the new direction that President Barack Obama has outlined for American foreign policy.

"There's a great exhalation of breath going on around the world as people express their appreciation for the new direction that's being set and the team that's put together by the president to carry out our foreign policy goals," Clinton said.

"We have a lot of damage to repair," she added.

Obama has moved quickly to take on some major international challenges. On Thursday he ordered the closure of the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, prison camp for holding suspects in the war on terrorism.

Obama also named former senator George Mitchell as special envoy to the Middle East and former UN ambassador Richard Holbrooke as his point man on Afghanistan-Pakistan.

Mitchell arrived in Cairo Tuesday, starting a tour of the Middle East to build on the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. dpa