Posted on Tuesday, January 20th, 2009 by campaign2008
With Barack Obama set to become the forty-fourth president of the United States today, analysts of international affairs are looking ahead at the policy measures the new administration will seek to implement. A new Daily Analysis from CFR.org examines the landscape, noting that Obama will take office bolstered by goodwill at home and abroad, but that he will instantly be confronted by a dizzying series of challenges. Obama’s most urgent priority, it seems, will be passing a sweeping economic stimulus package, the details of which Democratic lawmakers unveiled late last week. But the new administration will also be tasked with overseeing an orderly drawdown of U.S. troops in Iraq; finding a way forward in Afghanistan; managing tense and potentially volatile situations in South Asia and the Middle East; and forging a strategy for dealing with nuclear North Korea and an Iranian state bent on developing a nuclear energy program, and perhaps nuclear weapons. The Economist examines several of these issues and the leaders Obama has appointed to oversee their management in a new article and accompanying interactive graphic.
The New York Times reports this morning that Obama’s transition period since he was elected lends some clues to how he will go about making decisions once in office. The article notes that Obama hasn’t been shy about making swift decisions, but at the same time has sought to tap into the nation’s intellectual dialogue to gauge the best policy decisions. The Wall Street Journal notes, however, that the burgeoning U.S. budget deficit could limit Obama’s ability to follow through on some of his objectives, and that how he prioritizes spending pledges could become one of the major early questions of his presidency. The Financial Times, meanwhile, has a new interactive looking at which members of the Democratic Party have been bolstered by Obama’s ascendence, and what it might mean for Washingon.
Background:
- CFR.org’s bio of Obama outlines his statements on many of the most urgent foreign policy questions confronting Washington as he takes office.
- CFR’s President Richard Haass advises Obama on many of these issues in an open letter published in Newsweek.
Posted in Morning Update, Transition | 0 Comments »
Posted on Friday, January 16th, 2009 by campaign2008
President-elect Barack Obama told USA Today, in an interview published Thursday, he plans to appoint a team to address the crisis in Gaza immediately after his inauguration.
CONFIRMATION HEARINGS: Attorney General-designate Eric Holder denounced the use of torture (CSMonitor) in his Senate confirmation hearing on Thursday.
“I will use every available tactic to defeat our adversaries, and I will do so within the letter and spirit of the Constitution,” he told the Senate Judiciary Committee. Janet Napolitano, nominated to be secretary of the Homeland Security Department, told a committee the nation’s transit system
needed to be made more secure (Philadelphia Inquirer).
Meanwhile, Susan Rice, nominated to be ambassador to the UN, said hoped to strengthen the “indispensable if imperfect” institution.
Posted in Homeland Security, Morning Update, Transition | 0 Comments »
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 Wednesday, January 14th, 2009 by campaign2008
The Wall Street Journal looks at new questions surrounding Barack Obama’s nominee to head the U.S. Treasury, Timothy Geithner.
IRAQ: Vice President-elect Joe Biden met (Reuters) with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on Tuesday in Baghdad. Biden “asserted the importance of cooperation … to implement the foreign troop withdrawal agreement signed by the two countries,” according to Maliki’s office.
TERROR: Transition and White House officials conducted a joint disaster drill (WashPost), laying out a hypothetical terrorist attack on transportation and other targets in multiple U.S. cities, at the White House on Tuesday morning.
Posted in Economy, Homeland Security, Iraq, Morning Update, Terrorism, Transition | 0 Comments »
Posted on Tuesday, January 13th, 2009 by campaign2008
The U.S. Congress opens confirmation hearings today for Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY), whom President-elect Barack Obama has nominated to serve as secretary of state. Reuters says a smooth hearing is expected, though Clinton is likely to face questions about the foreign business dealings of her husband, former President Bill Clinton, who recently revealed that some foreign governments have been major donors to his foundation.
ABC echoes the same tone, saying a few pointed questions are likely, but that the hearings are unlikely to produce major fireworks.
More broadly, however, Clinton’s likely accession as secretary of state marks a new phase of Washington foreign policy, and potentially opens some new power struggles. The Washington Post says a power triumvirate has emerged that includes Obama, Clinton, and Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair John Kerry, whom many had seen as the leading candidate for the secretary of state post. The article says it remains to be seen how potential disputes between these three officials will play out.
In an analysis, FOXNews says Clinton is likely to reiterate that if she is appointed, she will act as Obama’s subordinate, despite their differences on some foreign policy issues.
Background:
– Writing in Foreign Affairs during her presidential campaign, Clinton laid out her vision for American foreign policy.
- This CFR.org bio outlines Clinton’s statements on a wide range of pressing international issues.
Commentary:
- The New York Times asks ten experts for what they think are the most pressing questions the committee should ask Clinton during her hearings.
- A news analysis from Reuters looks at the foreign policy concerns that are likely to dominate as the Obama presidency gets underway.
Posted in Morning Update, Transition | 0 Comments »
Posted on Monday, January 12th, 2009 by campaign2008
President-elect Barack Obama says it “is more difficult than I think a lot of people realize” to close the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. He told ABC News in an interview Sunday he was committed to closing the center but it would take time and must be done “in a way that doesn’t result in releasing people who are intent on blowing us up.”
MEXICO: In a statement, Mexican President Felipe Calderon’s office said he would press Obama on “better conditions for Mexicans in the United States, based on respect for their rights” when they meet on Monday.
Posted in Latin America, Morning Update, Terrorism, Transition | 0 Comments »
Posted on Friday, January 9th, 2009 by campaign2008
President-elect Barack Obama is expected to announce his intelligence team (AP) at a press conference this morning in Washington.
PANETTA: The New York Times looks at the challenges ahead for Leon Panetta, the expected nominee for head of the Central Intelligence Agency.
Posted in Morning Update, Transition | 0 Comments »
Posted on Thursday, January 8th, 2009 by campaign2008
President-elect Barack Obama has a plan to overhaul the Bush administration’s domestic counterterrorism program, the New York Time reports. Under the plan, the duties of the homeland security adviser would be transfered to the National Security Council.
Posted in Homeland Security, Morning Update, Transition | 0 Comments »
Posted on Wednesday, January 7th, 2009 by campaign2008
After meeting with his top economic advisers on Tuesday, President-elect Barack Obama warned of the potential of “trillion-dollar deficits for years to come” (NYT). He promised to enforce tighter fiscal discipline in his government.
BIDEN: Vice President-elect Joe Biden will visit Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan during his trip beginning at the end of the week, he told reporters Tuesday (Politico).
Posted in Afghanistan, Economy, Iraq, Morning Update, Pakistan | 0 Comments »
Posted on Tuesday, January 6th, 2009 by campaign2008
President-elect Barack Obama has reportedly chosen Leon Panetta (San Jose Mercury News), former chief of staff to Bill Clinton, as director of the Central Intelligence Agency. Obama also tapped retired Adm. Dennis Blair to be director of national intelligence.
SOUTHWEST ASIA: Vice President-elect Joe Biden will travel to Southwest Asia (Reuters) on a fact-finding trip later this week. The countries Biden will visit have not yet been announced for security reasons, according to his spokeswoman.
Posted in Morning Update, Transition | 0 Comments »
