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Obama Schools Romney by David Corn, Mother Jones | October 23, 2012
The final presidential debate did not resolve much, but it showed, yet again, that Mitt Romney will say just about anything to win the White House. The current president had two tasks to accomplish at Debate 3: Foreign Policy Edition. First, Barack Obama had to tout his overseas achievements and beat back the right-wing attack that he is weak and feckless. Second, he had to knock Romney on the defensive and, once again, raise overarching questions about the Republican candidate's credibility and capabilities. Romney's mission was more simple: look reasonable and commander-in-chief-ish. A high-school debate coach would probably award the match on points to Obama, who was commanding and vigorously described his national security actions. Both candidates met their key goals, but Obama more so than Romney, who accomplished his mission by repeatedly ducking confrontations and often endorsing the president's own actions—even if that meant Romney was jettisoning his previous stances. read more »Dry Well of the Benghazi ‘Cover-up’ by William Boardman, consortiumnews.com | October 22, 2012
News bubbles are essentially the same as housing bubbles, stock bubbles or tulip bubbles – the longer they last, the more detached they become from recognizable reality. Like any other bubble, the current Benghazi news bubble started growing when a few people with a self-serving agenda decided to inflate the importance of something that does not have anything like the value that they claim it has. For instance, former Bush White House aide Ron Christie went on MSNBC’s “The Ed Show” on Oct. 18 and said, “I think this is a cover-up, I think this is more significant than Watergate – no one died at Watergate.” On June 17, 1972, the first day of Watergate, the issue was clear. By comparison, the Benghazi bubble is political fast food, all over-heated conclusion without any of the intellectual nutrition of logic, honesty, basic facts, or good-faith arguments. read more »Mitt Romney's Foreign Policy Follies by Jon Perr, dailykos.com | October 22, 2012
As the presidential candidates prepare for their third and final debate on Monday, recent polling suggests Mitt Romney has cut into President Barack Obama's sizable lead on foreign policy issues. But if his demagoguery on China (where he apparently still profits from his portfolio of Bain investments) and Libya (where he accused the president of "empathizing" with the attackers) has fueled that uptick, Romney's laughably long list of foreign policy flip-fops, flubs and follies may come back to bite him. As it turns out, the man who got a "Four Pinocchio" rating for his repeated claims that Obama apologizes for America has a lot to apologize for. read more »Conservative Spending Hypocrisy: Frozen Pay For Federal Workers, Exorbitant Pay For Contractors by Isaiah J. Poole, OurFuture.org | October 22, 2012
The upcoming presidential debate on foreign policy will undoubtedly feature warnings from Republican candidate Mitt Romney that defense spending cuts from the Obama administration will compromise the nation's ability to defend itself. read more »Five Mitt Romneys, None Electable by Lakshmi Chaudhry and Sandip Roy, firstpost.com | October 18, 2012
Some experts are calling it a tie, while snap polls anoint President Obama as the winner. But the more accurate reading of the second presidential debate is to say simply: Mitt Romney lost. Yes, Obama was “much improved” as one CNN pundit put it, but his re-energized avatar would have been less impressive without Romney’s help. The former governor of Massachusetts committed 5 key unforced errors that determined the outcome of the debate, each revealing a different and un-electable Mitt Romney. read more »A Clear Win For Obama by Eugene Robinson, The Washington Post | October 17, 2012
Not a close call. President Obama won the second presidential debate as clearly and decisively as he lost the first. For anyone who disagrees, three simple words: “Please proceed, Governor.” This icy invitation to Mitt Romney came amid an exchange about the killings of State Department officials in Libya. Obama noted that in his initial Rose Garden remarks, he classified the attack as an act of terror. Romney, perhaps misinformed by the right-wing propaganda machine, tried to insist that the president waited weeks to call the incident terrorism. “Get the transcript,” Obama said. Moderator Candy Crowley stepped in and noted that Obama was correct. (Indeed, according to the transcript, Obama classified the attack as among “acts of terror” that would not deter or deflect U.S. foreign policy.) Having embarrassed himself, Romney had the good sense to move on. It was a moment that encapsulated what Obama accomplished Tuesday night: He punched hard, and he punched with facts. read more »Benghazi Madness by Joan Walsh, salon.com | October 16, 2012
Americans in both parties are entitled to ask questions about the Sept. 11 Benghazi terror attack that took the lives of Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other people. I reject efforts by Democratic partisans to insist that all such questions, especially by Republicans, are unfairly “politicizing” the tragedy, even though that’s the way the GOP would play it if the attack had come under a Republican president. We deserve answers about what happened in Benghazi, about particularly whether the compound should have been better protected given the rising number of threats against it, and whether U.S. intervention in the region, and particularly our drone policy, are provoking a backlash even in Libya. But the latest right-wing allegations about Benghazi have reached the realm of lurid conservative conspiracy porn. read more »Afghanistan: Our Longest and Least Talked About War by Arianna Huffington, Huffington Post | October 12, 2012
In the last month, the United States hit three milestones in the war in Afghanistan. In late September, the 33,000 additional soldiers that President Obama ordered to Afghanistan in late 2009 came home, leaving 68,000 troops in the country as part of the 108,000-person NATO force. Also last month, the number of U.S. soldiers killed reached 2,000. And this past Sunday marked the 11th anniversary of the longest war in American history. Unfortunately, one milestone the U.S. has not yet hit is the answer to the question: Why on earth are we still there? Maybe it's because, in addition to being America's longest war, Afghanistan is a contender for being America's least-talked-about war. read more »Six Critical Foreign Policy Questions That Won’t Be Raised in the Presidential Debates by Peter Van Buren, tomdispatch.com | October 11, 2012
We had a debate club back in high school. Two teams would meet in the auditorium, and Mr. Garrity would tell us the topic, something 1970s-ish like “Resolved: Women Should Get Equal Pay for Equal Work” or “World Communism Will Be Defeated in Vietnam.” Each side would then try, through persuasion and the marshalling of facts, to clinch the argument. There’d be judges and a winner. Today’s presidential debates are a long way from Mr. Garrity’s club. It seems that the first rule of the debate club now is: no disagreeing on what matters most. Waiting for another quip about Big Bird is about all the content we can expect. So in honor of old Mr. Garrity, here are five critical questions that should be explored (even if all of us know that they won’t be) in the foreign policy-inclusive presidential debates -- with a sixth bonus question thrown in for good measure. read more »Empire and Its Consequences by Robert C. Koehler, commondreams.org | October 11, 2012
Ever notice the way certain basic human values quietly transform into their opposite on their way to becoming national policy? At the human level, the immorality of murder is fundamental, and most people understand the insanity of armed hatred. Keeping these dark forces under wraps is essential to the existence of human society. So why is it, then, that at the abstract level of nationalism, those forces are honored, worshiped, saluted, extolled as glorious, and given command of an enormous budget? Why is it that their perpetuation via increasingly sophisticated technology is equated with national security and no one talks about the completely predictable negative consequences of basing security on murder and hatred? And why does it feel so naïve to be asking such questions? read more »
The Latest
U.S. Would Funnel More Money Into Diplomacy, USA Today | July 20, 2009
The State Department is poised to realize significantly larger percentage budget increases than the Pentagon — a reflection, officials say, of a bipartisan consensus that civilians should play a greater role in U.S. foreign policy. read more »
GAO Finds Security Lapses At Federal Buildings, The Washington Post | July 9, 2009
It cost $150 and took about four minutes for government investigators, working in a sting operation, to make small bombs from materials they carried into high-security federal buildings that house major agencies with national security or law enforcement responsibilities. read more »
Cyberattacks Hit U.S. and South Korean Web Sites, The New York Times | July 8, 2009
Cyberattacks that have crippled the Web sites of several major American and South Korean government agencies since the July 4th holiday weekend appear to have been launched by a hostile group or government, South Korea’s main government spy agency said. read more »
Robert McNamara, Ex-Defense Secretary, Dies, CNN | July 6, 2009
Former U.S. Defense Secretary Robert McNamara, a key architect of the U.S. war in Vietnam under presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson, has died at age 93, according to his family. McNamara was a member of Kennedy's inner circle during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, when the United States and the Soviet Union stood on the brink of nuclear war. read more »
Rail’s Hazardous Cargo Debate Back on Track, MSNBC News | June 29, 2009
The derailment of freight trains carrying ethanol, in Illinois, earlier this month highlights the struggle to prevent such disasters along the 140,000-mile U.S. rail network. The pressure is on to tackle outstanding safety issues with hazardous-cargo shipments expected to soar in coming years. Fears that terrorists might view chemical-laden tankers as easy targets adds to the urgency. read more »
Report: Easy For Suspected Terrorists To Buy Guns In U.S., Christian Science Monitor | June 23, 2009
Nearly 900 people on the FBI’s terror watch list applied for and received a certificate to buy a gun in the United States between 2004 and 2009, according to a Government Accountability Office report. In all, some 90 percent of the people on the watch list who applied passed the required background check, said the report, which was requested by Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D) of New Jersey. read more »
U.S. Withdrawal Date Approaches In Iraq, USA Today | June 22, 2009
As a June 30 deadline approaches for most U.S. troops to withdraw from Iraqi cities after a six-year occupation, much of the country is eager for the change. Vast areas including Baghdad have seen security improve dramatically and, while some tensions linger between Sunni and Shiite Muslims, major combat operations have drawn to a close. read more »
Report Blasts Terror Financing Laws and Investigations, ipsnews.net | June 17, 2009
Muslim charities in the United States are subject to unfair treatment by the government under terrorism financing laws, according to a new report which says the effect has been a chill on charitable giving that violates Muslims’ right to freely practice an important requirement of their religion. read more »
U.S. To Stick To Iraq Withdrawal Date, USA Today | June 16, 2009
The top U.S. commander in Iraq said that the country's "dark days" of violence have passed, and that improved security will allow U.S. combat troops to withdraw from cities as promised by the end of this month. Gen. Ray Odierno had said as recently as March that U.S. troops might stay in restive areas such as the northern city of Mosul if the Iraqi government requested their help. read more »
Travel Freebies For Pentagon Cause Concern, MSNBC News | June 11, 2009
Pentagon employees have received millions of dollars in free travel and lodging from foreign countries, trade groups and companies with an interest in shaping policies or doing business with the U.S. military. Defense officials say the arrangement is legal, saves taxpayers money and is carefully monitored to ensure there are no conflicts of interest. read more »
