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Foreign Policy Is Hard by Paul Waldman, prospect.org | October 2, 2012
In today's Wall Street Journal, Mitt Romney takes to the op-ed page to offer his vision for a new American policy in the Middle East. Apparently, the tragic recent events in Benghazi have convinced Romney and his advisors that something is going on over there, and though they aren't sure exactly what, it's definitely something, and therefore Romney ought to come and say something about it, to show everyone how wrong Barack Obama is. If you thought Romney was being vague about his domestic policy, that's nothing compared to what he has to say about foreign policy. read more »The Burden of Pentagon Spending by Melvin A. Goodman, consortiumnews.com | October 1, 2012
Over the past decade, the United States has engaged in the most significant increase in defense spending since the Korean War. Trillions of dollars have been allocated for the Pentagon, with little congressional monitoring or internal oversight. The defense budget for 2012 exceeds $600 billion, nearly equaling the combined defense spending of the rest of world. Every U.S. taxpayer spends twice as much for the cost of national defense as each British citizen; five times as much as each German; and six times as much as each Japanese. Recent U.S. military expenditures include more than $2.5 trillion to wage unwinnable wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that have failed to enhance American security. The current economic crisis and tepid economic recovery during President Barack Obama’s first term have created the imperative to reduce defense spending and the size of the U.S. military. read more »GOP’s October Surprise? by Craig Unger, salon.com | October 1, 2012
According to a highly reliable source, as Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama prepare for the first presidential debate Wednesday night, top Republican operatives are primed to unleash a new two-pronged offensive that will attack Obama as weak on national security, and will be based, in part, on new intelligence information regarding the attacks in Libya that killed U.S. ambassador Chris Stevens on September 11. The source, who has first-hand knowledge of private, high-level conversations in the Romney camp that took place in Washington, DC last week, said that at various times the GOP strategists referred to their new operation as the Jimmy Carter Strategy or the October Surprise. He added that they planned to release what they hoped would be “a bombshell” that would make Libya and Obama’s foreign policy a major issue in the campaign. read more »Boykinism: Even Dumb Ideas Have Consequences by Andrew Bacevich, tomdispatch.com | September 25, 2012
First came the hullaballoo over the “Mosque at Ground Zero.” Then there was Pastor Terry Jones of Gainesville, Florida, grabbing headlines as he promoted “International Burn-a-Koran Day.” Most recently, we have an American posting a slanderous anti-Muslim video on the Internet with all the ensuing turmoil. Throughout, the official U.S. position has remained fixed: the United States government condemns Islamophobia. Americans respect Islam as a religion of peace. Incidents suggesting otherwise are the work of a tiny minority -- whackos, hatemongers, and publicity-seekers. Among Muslims from Benghazi to Islamabad, the argument has proven to be a tough sell. And not without reason: although it might be comforting to dismiss anti-Islamic outbursts in the U.S. as the work of a few fanatics, the picture is actually far more complicated. Those complications in turn help explain why religion, once considered a foreign policy asset, has in recent years become a net liability. read more »Americans Sour on Endless War by Lawrence S. Wittner, consortiumnews.com | September 25, 2012
In the midst of a nationwide election campaign in which many politicians trumpet their support for the buildup and deployment of U.S. military power around the world, the American public’s disagreement with such measures is quite remarkable. Indeed, many signs point to the fact that most Americans want to avoid new wars, reduce military spending, and support international cooperation. The latest evidence along these lines is a nationwide opinion survey just released as a report (“Foreign Policy in the New Millennium”) by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. Conducted in late May and early June 2012, the survey resulted in some striking findings. One is that most Americans are quite disillusioned with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan during the past decade. Asked about these conflicts, 67 percent of respondents said they had not been worth fighting. Indeed, 69 percent said that, despite the war in Afghanistan, the United States was no safer from terrorism. read more »Obama Against the World by Tom Engelhardt, tomdispatch.com | September 24, 2012
By now, Obama and his savvy campaign staff should really be home free, having run political circles around their Republican opponent as he was running circles around himself. There's only one problem: the world. These days it’s threatening to be a bizarrely uncooperative place for a president who wants to rest on his Osama-killing foreign-policy laurels. So send Mitt to the Cayman Islands, stick Paul Ryan in a Swiss bank account, and focus your attention instead on Obama versus the world. For the next 43 days, that's the real contest. In such a potentially tumultuous situation, the president and his people are committed to a perilous high-wire act without a net. It involves bringing to bear all the power and savvy left to the last superpower on Earth to prevent some part of the world from spinning embarrassingly out of control, lest the president’s opponent be handed a delectable “October surprise.” read more »This Is Why The Military Community Has So Little Credibility On The Budget by Stan Collender, OurFuture.org | September 19, 2012
Originally posted at Capital Gains and Games. Take a look at this story by Jeremy Herb from The Hill yesterday and be prepared to stifle a huge scream. read more »Mitt Versus The Middle East by Gershom Gorenberg, prospect.org | September 19, 2012
Take a breath and think carefully. Was Mitt Romney's candid-camera comment on how he'd handle the Israeli-Palestinian conflict really as awful as it sounds at first? Actually, yes. In fact, it's even worse, especially if you are listening to it in Israel, or the Palestinian territories, or anywhere else in the Middle East. The man who would be president of the United States has said that he would throw the entire region under the bus. read more »How Obama Stole The GOP's Issue by Steve Kornacki, salon.com | September 17, 2012
The glee from Democrats, frustration from Republicans, and amazement from commentators has been easy to detect as the extent of President Obama’s advantage on foreign policy and national security has become clear. There is obvious volatility to the unfolding events in the Middle East, and the possibility exists that developments in the coming days might somehow prompt voters to reconsider Obama’s leadership. But for now, Mitt Romney is gaining no traction from his effort to portray the unrest as an indictment of American policy under Obama –and may actually be hurting himself. The spectacle of a Republican White House nominee straining – and failing – to score political points on national security is understandably jarring to anyone who’s watched U.S. politics for the last decade. read more »Can the Chicago Teachers’ Strike Fix Democratic Education Reform? by Richard D.Kahlenberg, tnr.com | September 17, 2012
In 1960, when Albert Shanker and other members of New York City’s teachers union sought collective bargaining rights, they set a strike date for Monday November 7, the day prior to the presidential election between John Kennedy and Richard Nixon. The timing would provide maximum leverage, they reasoned, because the Democratic mayor, Robert Wagner, would not want to come down hard on striking teachers the day before the election. This strategy was vindicated when teachers won an agreement that led to bargaining rights after just a single day on strike. The same logic surely crossed the mind of the shrewd president of the Chicago Teachers Union, Karen Lewis, who knew that calling a strike this week would be highly disruptive to President Barack Obama’s reelection campaign. But if the strike has been bad for Democratic presidential politics, it may ultimately be good for Democratic education policy, which for too long has aped right-wing rhetoric in the name of education reform. read more »
The Latest
Obama to Shut Guantanamo, CIA Prisons, The New York Times | January 22, 2009
President Obama is expected to sign executive orders directing the Central Intelligence Agency to shut what remains of its network of secret prisons and ordering the closing of the Guantanamo detention camp within a year. The orders would rewrite American rules for the detention of terrorism suspects. read more »
More Joining Military as Jobs Dwindle, iht.com | January 21, 2009
As the number of jobs across the nation dwindles, more Americans are joining the military, lured by a steady paycheck, benefits and training. The last fiscal year was a banner one for the military, with all active-duty and reserve forces meeting or exceeding their recruitment goals for the first time since 2004, the year that violence in Iraq intensified drastically, Pentagon officials said. read more »
Obama Orders Halt to Guantanamo Tribunals, The Guardian | January 21, 2009
The U.S. president, Barack Obama, has ordered a suspension of the controversial Guantanamo Bay military tribunals, in one of his first actions after being sworn in. Within hours of taking office Obama's administration filed a motion to halt the war crimes trials for 120 days, until his new administration completes a review of the much-criticized system for trying suspected terrorists. read more »
Senate Confirms Six Cabinet Secretaries, Associated Press | January 21, 2009
The Senate swiftly approved six members of President Barack Obama's Cabinet, but put off for a day the vote on his choice of Hillary Rodham Clinton to be secretary of state. read more »
Iraq Willing to See U.S. Troops Leave Early, USA Today | January 21, 2009
Iraq is willing to have the U.S. withdraw all its troops and assume security for the country before the end of 2011, the departure date agreed to by former President Bush, the spokesman of the Iraqi prime minister said. read more »
Wrongful Detentions Ruled at Guantanamo, iht.com | January 21, 2009
In the last three months, at least 24 detainees have been declared improperly held by courts or a tribunal — or nearly 10 percent of the population at the detention camp in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where about 245 men remain. read more »
Iraq Plan Includes Withdrawal Option, Reuters | January 15, 2009
The Pentagon said it is drawing up a plan for withdrawing U.S. combat troops from Iraq that would meet President-elect Barack Obama's campaign timetable for a 16-month pullout. But defense officials emphasized that the Obama plan would be among a range of options that will be ready for the president-elect to review as soon as he takes office. read more »
Senate Commttee Endorses Clinton, BBC News | January 15, 2009
Hillary Clinton has been endorsed as President-elect Barack Obama's secretary of state by the U.S. Senate's foreign relations committee. The final vote on her appointment will be taken in the Senate after the inauguration of Mr. Obama. Speaking before the committee, Mrs. Clinton said U.S. read more »
Court Validates Wiretapping Powers, iht.com | January 15, 2009
A federal intelligence court, in a rare public opinion, issued a major ruling validating the power of the president and Congress to wiretap international telephone calls and intercept e-mail messages without a specific court order, even when Americans' private communications may be involved. read more »
Judge Orders Detainee Released, The Washington Post | January 15, 2009
A federal judge ordered the release yesterday of a detainee at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, ruling that the government's evidence is too weak to justify the man's continued confinement. It is the second time that U.S. District Judge Richard J. Leon has ordered the release of a detainee after examining government evidence, most of it classified. read more »
