Posted on Thursday, January 15th, 2009 by campaign2008
Anticipating policy changes once President-elect Barack Obama takes office, military commanders are preparing a new plan (IHT) for a faster U.S. troop withdrawal from Iraq.
BIN LADEN: Obama described his approach to dealing with the threat posed by Osama bin Laden in an interview with CBS News on Wednesday. The United States must “so weaken [bin Laden's] infrastructure that, whether he is technically alive or not, he is so pinned down that he cannot function,” Obama said.
Posted in Iraq, Military, Morning Update, Terrorism | 0 Comments »
Posted on Thursday, December 18th, 2008 by campaign2008
President-elect Barack Obama is expected to announce the nomination of Mary Schapiro (LAT) as chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday. Schapiro is currently chief executive of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, a non-governmental securities regulating body.
USTR: Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-CA), who was reportedly a top contender for U.S. Trade Representative in the Obama administration, has turned down the position, according to a statement from his office.
Posted in Economy, Military, Morning Update, Transition | 0 Comments »
Posted on Thursday, December 11th, 2008 by campaign2008
President-elect Barack Obama will meet with the chairmen of the National War Powers Commission Thursday in Chicago.
MILITARY: A new report from the Center for American Progress offers a set of military policy recommendations for the incoming Obama administration.
Posted in Military, Morning Update, Transition | 0 Comments »
Posted on Wednesday, December 10th, 2008 by campaign2008
President-elect Barack Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden met with former Vice President Al Gore on Tuesday to discuss the new administration’s policy on climate change (AP).
DEFENSE: The New York Times looks at the decision Obama will have to make over whether the United States should keep building the F-22 fighter jet.
Posted in Climate Change, Energy Policy, Military, Morning Update, Transition | 0 Comments »
Posted on Monday, December 8th, 2008 by campaign2008
President-elect Barack Obama announced Sunday that Gen. Eric Shinseki is his nominee to be secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs. Shinseki, a Vietnam veteran and former Army chief of staff, was replaced after questioning former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld’s strategy in Iraq.
AUTO INDUSTRY: In an interview on NBC News’ Meet the Press Sunday, Obama said he believes government assistance for U.S. automakers should be conditioned on major changes in the way those companies operate. They “can’t keep on putting off the kinds of changes that they, frankly, should have made twenty or thirty years ago,” he said. “If they want to survive, then they better start building a fuel-efficient car.”
Posted in Economy, Military, Morning Update, Transition | 0 Comments »
Posted on Wednesday, December 3rd, 2008 by campaign2008
Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Tuesday that military commanders are already looking at “the potential for accelerating the drawdown” from Iraq, per President-elect Barack Obama’s plan for ending the war.
TORTURE: A group of retired military generals plan to press the Obama administration at a meeting Wednesday to implement a list of anti-torture principles (Reuters).
Posted in Iraq, Military, Morning Update, Transition | 0 Comments »
Posted on Wednesday, November 19th, 2008 by campaign2008
Journalist and author Tariq Ali warned that U.S. military action in Pakistan and escalation of the war in Afghanistan would create widespread instability in the region. Speaking Tuesday in a public discussion with Chicago Council on Global Affairs president Marshall Bouton. Ali said he was “extremely disturbed” by President-elect Barack Obama’s assertion during the presidential campaign that he would be willing to strike al-Qaeda targets inside of Pakistan with actionable intelligence if the Pakistani government was unwilling or unable to do so.
Ali, a native of the Pakistani city of Lahore, disputed what he called “the most common view on Pakistan in much of the Western world,” that Pakistan is “a nuclear state and a group of bearded jihadi terrorists might be on the verge of capturing this nuclear facility.” Rather, Ali insisted, jihadi groups in Pakistan represent a “tiny minority of the population as a whole,” and said it is “virtually impossible” that these groups would be able to capture the nuclear facility.
Ali urged Western leaders to develop a “serious exit strategy” for the war in Afghanistan, and questioned the premise of the war’s start. The al-Qaeda group responsible for the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 disappeared in the weeks before the war’s beginning, he said. “They had no particular links to Afghanistan as such they could function from everywhere,” Ali said, noting that no Afghan or Pakistani citizens were implicated in the attacks.
Ali called for a regional strategy involving the region’s “big players,” like Pakistan, India, Iran and Russia, to try to stabilize Afghanistan. He said United States should seek a political solution to the conflict, rather than a military one.
In Pakistan, Ali said, a major project, perhaps through UNESCO and Western civil society groups, could lift Pakistan out of poverty. He called for land reform and proposed that the United Nations build six large teacher training universities across Pakistan to improve the education system.
For more analysis and research about Pakistan and U.S. policy, see this CFR.org Issue Guide.
Posted in Afghanistan, Military, Pakistan, Terrorism | 1 Comment »
Posted on Wednesday, November 19th, 2008 by campaign2008
News reports indicate the Obama-Biden transition team will likely select Eric H. Holder Jr. as its attorney general (NYT). Holder was the deputy attorney general under the Clinton administration.
MILITARY: Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Tuesday that the U.S. military is crafting a plan to redeploy troops (AP) from Iraq to Afghanistan, per President-elect Barack Obama’s plan. Mullen said troops may exit Iraq through Turkey and Jordan. A new CFR.org Backgrounder looks at how the financial crisis might affect Pentagon spending.
Posted in Iraq, Military, Morning Update, Transition | 0 Comments »
Posted on Thursday, November 13th, 2008 by Joanna Klonsky
Middle East expert Juan Cole reviewed President-elect Barack Obama’s positions to date on Iraq and Afghanistan in a lecture at the University of Chicago on Wednesday evening. Cole, who tracks 
events in the Middle East on his Informed Comment blog, said many of Obama’s campaign positions on the Iraq war have recently become “more plausible” as a result of developments there.
Here are some of Cole’s main points:
BASES: Cole praised Obama’s opposition to building long-term military bases in Iraq. He argued that Iraq “is not actually very much like Japan, and even less like South Korea,” where the United States continues to maintain a military presence decades after the end of conflict. Cole said Obama recognizes “the lack of feasibility with regard to trying to keep bases in Iraq,” and said such bases would likely be an “irritant.”
AQI: Cole also said Obama “rightly dismisses” the argument that a U.S. withdrawal from Iraq will allow al-Qaeda to take over the country. Because Iraq is a majority Shiite country with a largely Shiite army, the idea that Iraq could be taken overtaken by al-Qaeda is “bizarre,” Cole said. “There are no Shiite al-Qaeda. Al-Qaeda is all about killing Shiites wherever you find them.”
AFGHANISTAN: Cole said Obama’s plan to provide Afghanistan with $1 billion in civilian aid is “very necessary, but a drop in the bucket compared to the real needs.” He noted Obama’s plan to send more troops to Afghanistan is not popular among NATO allies whose publics do not necessarily support the war effort.
PAKISTAN: Obama has said he would authorize U.S. air strikes inside Pakistan with “actionable intelligence” and if the Pakistani government refused to act. Cole said this position is “not really that controversial,” and that it gradually has become the policy of the Bush administration. Still, Cole said, “you don’t ordinarily in diplomatic relations pronounce that you will bomb your allies.”
Cole urged Obama to act as “diplomat-in-chief” in Iraq and Afghanistan, and emphasized the importance of strong leadership in the Obama administration’s approach to the Middle East.
Posted in Afghanistan, Iraq, Military, Terrorism, Transition | 0 Comments »
Posted on Tuesday, October 14th, 2008 by campaign2008
Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) released new details of his economic agenda on Monday. Obama’s plans include a ninety-day moratorium on home foreclosures and additional funding in government loan guarantees for automakers. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) also addressed economic policy in a speech on Monday. He promised to “open new markets to goods made in America and make sure our trade is free and fair.”
NORTH KOREA: In a statement on Saturday, Obama said President Bush’s decision to remove North Korea from the list of state sponsors of terrorism was “an appropriate response, as long as there is a clear understanding that if North Korea fails to follow through there will be immediate consequences.”
DRAFT: The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette looks at the candidates’ differing views on the military draft. Obama believes women should have to register for the Selective Service while McCain does not.
Posted in Economy, General Election, Military, Morning Update | 0 Comments »
