On the eve of his first State of the Union address — a speech likely to be viewed as a response to a new Washington pessimism over his domestic agenda — President Obama is recording consistent support for his handling of foreign affairs and national security, according to an overview More…
The national security adviser didn’t say anything new during his afternoon talk to the Center for American Progress about reconciliation with the Taliban. Jim Jones pledged an “open door” for “those who would abandon violence” and “respect the rights of fellow citizens.” Those are parameters for negotiation, not a More…
Karen DeYoung’s Washington Post story today isn’t actually about the 2004 intelligence-community reforms failing to stop the would-be Northwest Airlines Flight 253 bomber, despite its headline. It’s actually about how one approach to implementing the critique President Obama offered Tuesday for why Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was able to get More…
There’s talk about how Iran’s apparent rejection of President Obama’s outreach represents the end of a 2008 campaign goal. And it’s not exactly wrong, though it may be premature. But in today’s Washington Post, it’s clear that another, darker campaign vow is returning, this time about Pakistan. More…
Apropos of my query why Peter Orszag, the chief of the White House Office of Management and Budget, wasn’t in yesterday’s all-hands Afghanistan strategy session, Josh Gerstein at Politico has a great catch:
Spotted in the official White House photo of Monday night’s war council meeting on
Chances are President Obama will announce a readjusted Afghanistan-Pakistan strategy shortly after the Thanksgiving holiday. It’s very likely that strategy announcement will come paired with an announcement of a troop escalation. Before that happens, however, Obama will host one last all-hands-on-deck meeting with his national security team. Just added to More…
Marc Ambinder has a seriously detailed curtain-raiser on a turf war that’s roiled the intelligence community for months. Dennis Blair, the director of national intelligence, and Leon Panetta, the director of the CIA, have clashed over who controls the top U.S. intelligence officer in various foreign countries. But More…
Update: I am retracting this post, published yesterday, titled “Inside This Morning’s White House Afghanistan Meeting: Anger With Eikenberry, ‘Beef’ With McChrystal.”
My original source for the post stands by the account provided. The individual, a National Security Council staffer who spoke on condition of anonymity, has provided truthful More…
President Obama will host this morning what’s expected to be his final meeting with his national security team on Afghanistan strategy ahead of a revision of/re-commitment to what the strategy will be and how to resource it. Attendees will include the chairmen of the military services, which means that this More…
I’m at the Grand Hyatt in Washington, where at 1 p.m., retired Gen. Jim Jones, President Obama’s national security adviser, will deliver a keynote speech on the administration’s approach to peacemaking in the Middle East to the first annual conference assembled by J Street, the year-old pro-Israel, pro-peace lobby. He’ll More…
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