Foreign Policy
Live From A Huge Foreign-Policy Confab
I’m in one of the two massive ballrooms of the Washington Convention Center, where in a few minutes, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is going to present a tour of the foreign-policy horizon. That’ll kick off a day-long event sponsored by the U.S. Institute of Peace called “Passing The Baton,” outlining the national-security and foreign-policy [...]
The Downside of Being President-Elect
When you go on vacation and an international crisis breaks out, you get hounded by protesters.
From a pool report today:
About a half dozen demonstrators had assembled near the security checkpoint fronting the entrance to the $9 million rental home where [President-elect Barack] Obama and his family are staying.
Donilon, Blinken Join The White House Foreign Policy Staff
The Obama transition formally announced Jack Lew and Jim Steinberg as deputy secretaries of state just now. On Lew, my pal Mark Kleiman, who knows the guy, remarks, “He’s just one of those people who aren’t even tempted to cut corners, or at least that’s the way he comes across.” Interesting.
But here are two more: [...]
The Coming Military-Civilian Resource Shift, Cont’d
Remember about a month ago, when President-elect Barack Obama announced his foreign policy team, and it looked as if there was going to be a shift of emphasis from the military to the civilian agencies of government, in terms of money, attention and influence? Secretary of State-designee Hillary Rodham Clinton is looking to reorganize her [...]
Obama Mulls Speech in Muslim Capital
The New York Times reports that President-elect Barack Obama is “considering making a major foreign policy speech from an Islamic capital during his first 100 days in office,” possibly in Cairo.
As Politico’s Ben Smith points out, this would possibly fulfill an obscure primary campaign pledge to hold a summit with Muslim countries, made during an [...]
Big Personalities Join Obama Foreign-Policy Team
The interplay between the outsized personalities on President-elect Barack Obama’s national-security team and his ability to set the agenda looks likely to be a key undercurrent of his entry onto the global stage.
A Window Into Obama’s Foreign Policy
The former Clinton-era State Dept. official shares with the president-elect a frustration with conventional foreign-policy thinking. Impatient with ideology, she focuses on transnational threats, challenges and opportunities — befitting the emphasis of a new generation of global strategists. Her experience with Africa has taught her invaluable lessons.
Kerry at Foggy Bottom?
With Vietnam experience and foreign-policy expertise, the 2004 Democratic nominee would bring strong credentials to any possible Obama administration. His close ties to the Illinois senator, as well as his political skills, are assets. But will Biden stand for it?
A.P.: Obama “Nervously” Meets with National Security Experts
Sen. Barack Obama convened a “working group” of foreign policy experts in Virgina today.
Among those attending were longtime Obama confidantes such as Susan Rice, Clintonites such as Richard Holbrooke and Madeleine Albright, and seasoned Democratic policy figures such as former Sens. Sam Nunn and Gary Hart. Several military leaders also showed up.
After the meeting, Obama [...]
Flirt With Sarah Palin And Islamists Will Try To Murder You
Last week, Pakistani President Asif Al Zardari chatted up Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin at the United Nations. By all accounts he didn’t even get her number.
Still, Zardari’s game was too much for the leader of the radical Red Mosque, the Islamabad hotbed of extremism that last year got into a protracted gunfight with the authorities. [...]
