Obama’s Foreign Policy

 Posted by  2008 Election, Foreign Policy  6 Responses »
Aug 222007
 

Obama has been talking a lot about foreign policy lately.  In early August, there was the trio of statements which got him in a lot of trouble, but which I actually appreciated:

  • We won’t use nuclear weapons in the war on terror (you don’t use nukes to win a PR war)
  • We will sit down and talk with anyone who wants to talk with us (diplomatic isolation never accomplished anything)
  • If we know where terrorists are, we’ll go after them, even without permission from the host country (any president who says differently is lying)

On Tuesday of this week, Obama said that the United States should allow Cubans to make unlimited trips, and send unlimited remittances, to Cuba, in order to increase social and cultural contact between Cuba and the United States.  Once again, his statements have caused some turmoil, but he is exactly right.

And now, thanks to Foreign Affairs, we even have a reasonably comprehensive look at Obama’s foreign policy.  I thought it might be useful to see what he has to say about other issues.  Just to warn you, his essay gives a frustrating combination of creative, insightful policy initiatives, and vague generalities.  I’ve tried to focus on the specifics and ignore the empty rhetoric, although it often isn’t clear exactly which rhetoric is empty and which is potentially meaningful.

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Premature Predictions

 Posted by  2008 Election  No Responses »
Aug 212007
 

In June, the buzz among political pundits was how Fred Thompson was poised to become the “true conservative” candidate in the field. Thompson makes for an oddly intriguing candidate (which says something about how weak the GOP field is), but he has yet to actually enter the race or galvanize social conservatives around his candidacy. In July, the buzz among political pundits was that the McCain candidacy is dead. McCain has been struggling, but last I checked he’s still beating Romney (who isn’t “dead”) more often than not in national polls. (Also, if you look at the polling averages you’ll notice that McCain’s decline seems to mirror Thompson’s rise; if Thompson doesn’t actually run, expect a McCain “revival” this fall.) Now it’s August, and the latest pundit buzz seems to be that Clinton has locked up the Democratic nomination (see Stanley Fish, Robert Novak, and Karl Rove, among others). But, like the previous pundit predictions, this one is a touch premature.

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Giuliani’s Understanding and Foreign Affairs

 Posted by  2008 Election, Foreign Policy, Middle East, Nuclear Weapons, Terrorism  4 Responses »
Aug 172007
 

I encourage you to take a look at this series of articles being published in Foreign Affairs. In a nut shell, the journal asked each of the “top” presidential candidates to write an essay outlining their foreign policy goals and strategies if they are elected president. So far, four candidates have responded: Obama, Edwards, Giuliani, and Romney.

As with any mid-election statement, there are plenty of platitudes and not enough specifics–especially when it comes down to actually paying for things. That being said, the general styles and philosophies of the candidates come through pretty clearly, and there are enough specific policy proposals to be able to compare and contrast the candidates. For instance, all four candidates express a need to hire more soldiers, but in different ways. Romney and Giuliani want to build new combat brigades to be part of an overall expansion in military power, to return the military to the size and prominence it had during the Reagan years; Obama focuses on recruiting more Marines and special ops forces, to refocus the military on counter-terrorism and peace-making; Edwards stresses the need to improve pay and benefits for soldiers and veterans, and to eliminate the reliance on the National Guard to provide support personnel.

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Online Business Opportunities

 Posted by  Crime  1 Response »
Aug 172007
 

Hey Mike,

I enrolled you in a special program as a present. Let me know how well it works.

Just kidding. Even if the site’s owners brag more than they ought about their abilities, it’s a sad reminder that no technology can get around simple human corruption and slander.

(h/t: The Point)

Terrorist Group Defined

 Posted by  Foreign Policy, Middle East, Terrorism  No Responses »
Aug 152007
 

The Bush Administration has reportedly decided to list the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps–a significant portion of the Iranian military–as a terrorist group. (In case you were curious, by the way, the announcement comes as a result of Executive Order 13224, under authority from the International Emergency Executive Powers Act.) Supposedly this will allow the United States to put further pressure on Iran by cutting off financial resources, by increasing the “pressure” on Russia and China (who still do business with Iran), and by sending a message to the Iranian people about the things their government is involved in. That may not be the worst argument I’ve ever heard… but its close.

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