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home > campaign 2008 > campaign blog: the candidates and the world
“[D]id nuclear arms help the Soviet Union from falling and disintegrating? For that
matter, did a nuclear bomb help the U.S. to prevail inside Iraq or Afghanistan, for that matter? Nuclear bombs belong to the 20th century. We are living in a new century.”
–Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, in an interview with NBC’s Brian Williams that aired Monday.
As the presidential campaign debate intensified today over U.S. military policy in Iraq and Afghanistan, another discussion took place in Washington about the need for deep-seated, bipartisan reform in the projection of U.S. soft power. The touchstone was a survey of U.S. military officers conducted for the Center for U.S. Global Engagement. A main takeaway from the survey, which can be found here, is the importance a great majority of military officers place on using non-military tools such as diplomacy, food, and support for health, education, and economic development programs. A majority of those surveyed believe the government has not done enough to improve either military or non-military capabilities.
The center followed up with a panel discussion featuring former top national security officials. Panel members saw a need for restructuring the way U.S. military and civilian agencies work together in crisis regions. Nearly all cited the need for reform legislation on a par with the 1986 Goldwater-Nichols Act, which improved coordination among different branches of the military.
Robert McFarlane, former National Security Advisor in the Reagan Administration, said the U.S. Agency for International Development has “never had the horsepower” to carry through soft power initiatives on its own. He said U.S. nation building “has to be a State-AID-DOD function but integrated in a far better way.”
Adm. Steve Abbot (Ret.), former deputy commander in chief of the U.S. European Command, expressed concern about the ad hoc nature of U.S. post-conflict efforts in some shattered states, saying Washington “cannot have a pick-up game with every crisis.”
Rudy DeLeon, a deputy secretary of defense in the Clinton administration, pointed to plans to have soldiers in the Texas National Guard train go to Afghanistan to help farmers there understand crop alternatives to opium poppies. DeLeon said instead there should be greater efforts to involve the U.S. department of agriculture, and universities with expertise in agriculture.
Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) on Wednesday voted in favor of a new FISA bill (WashPost) which lifted restrictions on domestic spying and granted legal immunity to telecommunications companies that cooperated in the Bush administration’s warrantless wiretapping program. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) missed the vote, but has expressed support for the bill.
McCain on Wednesday praised Defense Secretary Robert Gates for his reopening of the Air Force tanker deal to new bidders.
In a Los Angeles Times op-ed on Wednesday, Obama foreign policy advisers Madeleine Albright and William Perry argue against McCain’s proposal to oust Russia from the G-8.
In an interview with the Military Times published Monday, Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) laid out his defense agenda and said he would take advice from military commanders on the ground into consideration when planning the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq.
The Chicago Tribune details Obama’s trip abroad later this month.
Both presidential candidates will speak (Daily Kenoshan) to the League of United Latin American Citizens convention Tuesday in Washington, D.C.
Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) laid out his energy policy plans in a speech in Houston, Texas. McCain called for offshore drilling and attacked proposals for a windfall profits tax on oil companies.
Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) announced the formation of his new national security advisory team, which includes former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and former Sen. Sam Nunn (D-GA). The full list of members of the working group is available here.
Responding to reports that the U.S. government has been recruiting “mentally distressed veterans” for pharmaceutical drug tests that have been associated with suicide, Obama said in a statement Tuesday that it is “outrageous and unacceptable that our government would irresponsibly endanger veterans.” He promised to request a “full and thorough investigation.”
“I will seek to reduce the size of our nuclear arsenal to the lowest number possible
consistent with our security requirements and global commitments. Today we deploy thousands of nuclear warheads. It is my hope to move as rapidly as possible to a significantly smaller force.”
–Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), in a speech Tuesday at the University of Denver on nuclear security.
In a town hall meeting in Boca Raton, Florida, on Thursday, Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) said he would not negotiate with Hamas or Hezbollah unless they “renounce terror, recognize Israel’s right to exist, and abide by past agreements.”
Both Obama and Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) returned to Washington, D.C., on Thursday to vote in favor of a war-funding bill (WashPost) that expands education benefits for veterans. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) did not attend the vote, and opposes the bill because, he says, it could reduce military retention rates. The bill passed.
Clinton on Thursday voted to override President Bush’s veto of the Farm Bill. Obama did not vote. McCain was not present (Reuters) for the vote, but has expressed support for Bush’s veto.
Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) released a plan (PDF) to strengthen domestic manufacturing Wednesday. The plan includes the creation of a $150 billion Clean Technologies Deployment Venture Capital Fund, which would “advance clean energy and create green manufacturing jobs in the United States.” He also reiterated his commitment to “crack down” on Chinese market manipulation.
A report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities concludes that a cap-and-trade system that auctions carbon allowances would allow the government to “reduce greenhouse-gas emissions in a way that does not increase poverty or otherwise harm low-income households and is fiscally responsible.” Obama, Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY), and Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) all have climate change policy plans that include auctioning carbon permits.
An amendment backed by McCain (R-AZ) that would give veterans additional assistance for higher education was blocked in Senate on Wednesday, the Hill reports.
Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) released a new ad, with Spanish subtitles, that focuses on his plan to help Latino small business owners. The plan includes what he calls “pro-innovation immigration policies.” No other details of the plan were immediately available.
In a statement Thursday, Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) responded to a USA Today report that said recently released Pentagon records indicate tens of thousands of troops deemed medically unfit for combat have been sent to Iraq or Afghanistan since 2003. As president, Clinton said, she would “not send a single soldier into combat who is not medically fit.” She also promised that “for every month our soldiers spend in the field, they will be guaranteed one month here at home” if she is elected.
Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) on Wednesday called news of poor housing conditions at Fort Bragg “unacceptable” and called on the Secretary of Defense to conduct “a thorough investigation.” Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) has called for Senate hearings on the matter.
Reuters looks at the views of various economists on the gas tax holiday plan supported by McCain and Clinton.
Ahead of this weekend’s Democratic caucuses in Guam, Clinton released a plan to address concerns of Guam residents about the planned U.S. military buildup there.
Copyright 2007 by the Council on Foreign Relations. All Rights Reserved.
