Posted on Monday, August 4th, 2008 by campaign2008
Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) will unveil his “New Energy for America” plan (Chicago Sun-Times) on Monday in Lansing, Michigan. Under the plan, Obama would grant a rebate to help Americans cope with high gas prices, seek to create five million new “green jobs,” and eliminate U.S. dependence on Middle Eastern oil in ten years, says the Obama campaign.
The Democratic Party will call the Iraq war a “strategic blunder” in its 2008 convention platform, NBC reports.
In an interview with the Washington Post, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) said President Bush should avoid confrontation with the Chinese during his trip to Beijing for the opening ceremonies of the Olympics. “You don’t want to go over there and insult the Chinese,” he said. “It would not be good for our relations.”
Posted in China, Energy Policy, General Election, Iraq, Morning Update | 0 Comments »
Posted on Thursday, July 31st, 2008 by campaign2008
The Wall Street Journal is hosting an online debate on trade policy between an economic adviser to Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL), Daniel Tarullo, and an economic adviser to Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), Phillip Levy. Both have offered differed responses to collapse of the WTO talks in Geneva.In a Washington Post op-ed, former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who advises McCain, assesses the changing conditions in Iraq and says a withdrawal from Iraq is not necessary to free forces for Afghanistan.
A new poll (LAT) shows a slim majority of Californians favoring increased drilling off their coast. McCain discussed his energy views with Colorado’s KRDO radio on Tuesday.
Obama praised the reauthorization on Tuesday of the global AIDS bill, which he said represents “a renewed and expanded commitment by the United States” to fight AIDS around the world.
Posted in Afghanistan, Energy Policy, General Election, Iraq, Morning Update, Trade | 0 Comments »
Posted on Tuesday, July 29th, 2008 by campaign2008
Reader Bill Donahue writes:
Much has been made about the comments of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki regarding Obama’s 16 month timetable for withdrawal of U.S. Troops. The common spin is that al-Maliki is putting pressure on the Bush administration. It might also be fueled by Iraqi concern about the U.S. election as well as local elections there. The Prime Minister knows that a portion of the United States wants to leave Iraq. If we do so, he is on his own. It could motivate him to ally himself with the powerful al-Sadr militant faction or at least join the chorus of anti-American groups. Also, there are provincial elections forthcoming in Iraq as well. It may be to al-Maliki’s advantage to seem tough and independent in their own election cycle. The militant radical Montique al-Sadr incidentally also is a supporter of Obama’s plans. He wants US troops out so he, an Iran supporter, can take over. So, if he is going to stay in power, al-Maliki, might feel the need to run toward his “right” just as Obama is now running toward his “center.” Also, militant groups will play upon the election to get U.S. troops out. Curiously, streetwise Iraqis are not so sure they want the US out too soon. It would destabilize the country and re-open the sectarian violence. Then what have we accomplished and what do they have but more bloodshed?
Also, by publicly debating the issue of timetables to leave, and emboldening people like Moqtada al-Sadr, we have made the situation on the ground more uncertain. If we cannot be trusted to stay and finish what we start, it is no wonder people in Iraq or the entire region will “run” to their right where al-Sadr and Iran wait in the wings. If we leave and the country disintegrates into civil war again, the lives of hundreds of our troops will have been wasted. Is that the right thing to do for the sake of the troops who have died and those still fighting every day? Will setting artificial timetables destroy the progress made and endanger the sacrifice already made? Whether you agreed with the entry into Iraq or not, having done so we have an obligation to leave without causing more violence. A lot of people on the streets placed their trust in us once we were there. We cannot just create timetables that suit one person’s election campaign ambitions but threaten stability there. I wonder if we have not already done that by driving al-Maliki toward people like al-Sadr? Will setting artificial deadlines give power to the militant groups like al-Sadr? Let’s remember that al-Sadr who has killed American troops and has never been called to justice for it. Senator Obama may have just made al-Sadr’s militant group more powerful. The on again off again relationship of al-Sadr with the Prime Minister’s government will be influenced by the knowledge that the United States is leaving by a date certain. When Senator Obama moves to Afghanistan, the militants there will expect the same withdrawal syndrome in short order. We may not like the war, but we have a moral and pragmatic obligation to finish what we start and finish it well. Our credibility with other nations in the area I think will be damaged by Senator Obama’s plan of unconditional withdrawal. He wants to be tough on Iran and Afghanistan. Who is going to take us seriously when we abandon the people in Iraq that stood with us?
–Bill Donahue
Posted in Afghanistan, General Election, Inbox, Iraq | 0 Comments »
Posted on Tuesday, July 29th, 2008 by Joanna Klonsky
As the presidential candidates continue to debate the success of the troop surge, the American Prospect has convened a diverse group of Iraq experts to weigh in. Included in the panel are CFR Senior Fellow for Defense Policy Stephen Biddle, Global Americana Institute President Juan Cole, and Center for American Progress Senior Fellow Lawrence Korb, among others.
Shawn Brimley, Fellow at the Center for a New American Security, says the surge has been “overly simplified” by Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), who has insisted that the strategy was successful. “A change in strategy, plus the Sunni Awakening, the decision of Sadr to stand down his militia, and the use of concrete barriers in Baghdad to separate Sunni and Shia were all extremely important factors that, along with the additional troops, combined to help lower the violence,” he says.
Brookings’ Michael O’Hanlon says it is “incontrovertible to me that several major factors, including certainly the surge, were hugely important–and also synergistically important, in that the sum of effects was much greater than the sum of the parts.”
Matthew Duss, research associate at the Center for American Progress, says the Awakenings movement, Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr decision to “freeze” his militia, and the sectarian cleansing that led to “the separation of Sunni and Shia Iraqis into protected enclaves” all contributed to the decrease in violence in Iraq. The surge “encouraged, supported and consolidated each of these other phenomena, but very likely could not have succeeded without them,” he says.
Lt. Col. (ret) John Nagl says it is “past time to think about how to transfer some of the hard-earned lessons from countering insurgency in Iraq to the campaign in Afghanistan.”
To read the entire debate, click here.
For more on the candidates’ stances on Iraq policy, see this CFR.org Issue Tracker on the issue.
Posted in General Election, Iraq | 0 Comments »
Posted on Tuesday, July 29th, 2008 by campaign2008
After touring a California oil field on Monday, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) again called for offshore drilling (WashPost). He disputed claims that offshore drilling might not yield benefits for years, saying some oil producers told him there are some cases in which oil could be available “within a matter of months.” He said the timeframe would depend “on the location and whether you use existing rigs or have to install new rigs.”
In an interview with Larry King on Monday night, McCain discussed his views on Iraq, and clarified a statement last week that Sen. Barack Obama’s (D-IL) proposed sixteen-month timetable for withdrawal from Iraq seemed “pretty good” (ChiTrib). He said that sixteen-month goal should not be “hard and fast,” but rather should be “condition-based.”
Obama will meet (MSNBC) with Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Tuesday in Washington, D.C.
Posted in Energy Policy, General Election, Iraq, Morning Update, Pakistan | 0 Comments »
Posted on Monday, July 28th, 2008 by Joanna Klonsky
In Politico’s new “Dear 44” series, experts from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Center for American Progress Action Fund debate a different policy issue facing the next president each week. This week, Aram Zamgochian (PDF), project director for Middle East and Africa Affairs at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and Brian Katulis, Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress, discuss what the next administration’s policy toward Iraq should look like.
Zamgochian touts efforts by the Chamber of Commerce to help U.S. companies “identify credible investment opportunities, find sound local partners and develop policies to help them compete” in Iraq. He says such investment is “the true long-term insurance policy to guarantee against instability in a region that is crucial to our national security and business objectives.”
Katulis, on the other hand, urges the next president to follow the advice of the Iraq Study Group report. Though the report needs updating, he says, “its fundamental premise that a new strategy is needed to managing multiple and interlinked challenges in the Middle East — among them Iran, the Arab-Israeli conflict and Iraq — remains relevant and should guide the next administration’s efforts as it redeploys U.S. troops from Iraq.”
Posted in General Election, Iraq | 0 Comments »
Posted on Monday, July 28th, 2008 by campaign2008
In an interview with NBC’s Meet the Press, Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) said too much U.S. financial assistance to Pakistan has been military aid, and “not enough of it has been in the form of building schools and building infrastructure in the country to help develop and give opportunity to the Pakistani people.” He also discussed Afghanistan and the troop surge in Iraq.
On ABC’s This Week, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) stressed the importance of basing Iraq policy on the “conditions on the ground.” He also discussed the economy, calling Wall Street “the villain” in the sub-prime mortgage crisis.
Posted in General Election, Iraq, Morning Update, Pakistan | 0 Comments »
Posted on Friday, July 25th, 2008 by campaign2008
Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) meets Friday with the Dalai Lama (Denver Post) in Aspen, Colorado.
AFGHANISTAN: Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE) defended Sen. Barack Obama’s plan to redeploy troops to Afghanistan in a USA Today op-ed Thursday.
IRAQ: Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE), recently returned from a congressional delegation to the Middle East with Obama, called on both candidates to stop debating the success of the troop surge in Iraq and to “project forward” (AP).
LATINO VOTE: A new Pew poll surveys Hispanic voter attitudes toward the presidential race.
Posted in Afghanistan, General Election, Iraq, Morning Update | 0 Comments »
Posted on Wednesday, July 23rd, 2008 by campaign2008
Obama discussed a wide range of foreign policy issues with reporters in Amman, Jordan, on Tuesday. The transcript of his remarks is available here (WashPost).TIME outlines the itinerary for the rest of Obama’s trip abroad.
Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) on Tuesday praised the war effort in Iraq, saying Sadr city, Basra, and Mosul are “safe,” and that the Iraqi people are “now leading normal lives.” He urged a continuation of the current strategy there (WashPost).
Speaking in New Hampshire, McCain spoke of a national energy crisis and said “we have to drill offshore” (USAToday).
Posted in Energy Policy, General Election, Iraq | 0 Comments »
Posted on Tuesday, July 22nd, 2008 by campaign2008
“As we draw down in Iraq, we can beef up our presence on other battlefields (such as
Afghanistan) without fear of leaving a failed state behind. I’ve said that I expect to welcome home most of our troops from Iraq by the end of my first term in office, in 2013. But I’ve also said that any draw-downs must be based on a realistic assessment of conditions on the ground - not on an artificial timetable crafted for domestic political reasons.”
–Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), in an op-ed published Tuesday in the New York Post.
Posted in General Election, Iraq, Quote of the Day | 0 Comments »
