Robert Dreyfuss | The Nation
Obama Iraq Advisers Clash at CNAS
The battle for Barack Obama's mind on the issue of getting out of Iraqunfolded in public yesterday, as two members of his Iraq advisory taskforce presented conflicting versions of what to do about the BushAdministration's nation-wrecking program in that country.
The scene was the second annual meeting of the Center for a New AmericanSecurity, a center-right Democratic think tank whose luminaries includeMadeleine Albright and William Perry, secretaries of state and defenseunder Bill Clinton, and a host of other foreign policy wonks.
The two speakers were Colin Kahl, who chairs the task force and whoworks at CNAS, and Brian Katulis, a member of Obama's task force and athinker-in-residence at the Center for American Progress. Neither Kahlnor Katulis was speaking for Obama, but the stark conflict in theirviews says something important about the differing opinions Obama may begetting from inside his team.
The Unique Reality of Condi Rice
In case you missed it--or, if you didn't miss it, in case you didn't have the energy to read the entire 9,000 words--Condoleezza Rice's interminable lead article in the current issue of Foreign Affairs is a doozy.
It's an extended fugue on the importance of democracy promotion, whether by hook or crook. "We recognize," she writes, "that democratic state building is now an urgent component of our national interest."
In the piece, Rice concocts something she calls "a uniquely American realism." In it, it's America's job to change the world, and in its own image:
Iraqi Officials Oppose US-Iraq Treaty
Ever since President Bush announced last fall that the United States would seek to negotiate a lasting security agreement with Iraq, the Democrats in Washington have insisted that any such accord would be a treaty and, therefore, ought to be submitted to the U.S. Senate for ratification.
But it's starting look more and more like the proposed treaty won't ever see the light of day. Why? Because the Iraqis themselves don't want it.
At an extraordinary hearing on Capitol Hill yesterday, members of the Iraqi parliament hand-delivered a letter to members of Congress that rejected the idea of a US-Iraq agreement unless the United States agrees to a specific timetable to get out of Iraq. The letter was signed by a majority of the 270-member parliament, reflecting a broad consensus among Iraqi factions. Said the letter:
Obama Works A Tough Room at AIPAC
Two days after John McCain paraded his tough-guy image in front of 7,000 supporters at the annual meeting of the American-Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), Barack Obama delivered his own version of the Israeli national anthem this morning. For Obama, the AIPAC conference seemed like a tough room to work. But, by all indications, he wowed 'em.
He started out by citing "provocative e-mails" circulating in the Jewishcommunity. (He didn't provide details, but people in the AIPAC audiencedid, when I asked: that Obama is captive of Palestinian ideology, thatObama is a secret Muslim, and so on.) "Let me know if you see this guyBarack Obama," said Barack Obama, "because he sounds like a scary guy."
Virtually every speech ever delivered to an AIPAC conference, going back54 years to the first AIPAC conclave, is a litany of pro-Israelishibboleths. Obama didn't disappoint. He learned about the Holocaust from a camp counselor at age 11, he said, and his great-uncle helped to liberate Buchenwald. Check. "As president I will never compromise whenit comes to Israeli security." Check. He advocates strengtheningUS-Israeli military ties, and wants to sign a memorandum ofunderstanding to provide Israel with $30 billion in military aid overthe next ten years to "ensure Israel's qualitative military advantage."Check. No negotiations with Hamas and Hezbollah. Check. And while hewill talk to Iran, it will be "tough and principled diplomacy with theappropriate Iranian leader at a time and place of my choosing--if, andonly if--it can advance the interests of the United States." Check. Andjust in case AIPAC thinks that he won't act, Obama added: "I will alwayskeep the threat of military action on the table."
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