American Jews back Obama on Israel

Do you approve or disapprove of the Obama administration's handling of U.S.-Israel relations?

Via Ben.

VIDEO: Clinton defends Obama's engagement strategy on Iran, N. Korea

By GottaLaff

It's sunny here in SoCal, after two days of rain. Now let's get that other part of the U.S. of A. warmed up!



Of course, if ShootFirst McTalkLater had her way, we'd be bombing Iran, torturing suspects, and while we're at it, reverting back to the Bush economy.

Engagement? Pfft. Diplomacy? Getoutahere! That's for commie socialists.

Obama Heads to Asia, Breaks Foreign Travel Record

It took alot of hand holding to tamper down the trauma of GWB's reign.

Even before President Obama sets foot on Air Force One tomorrow to begin a 9-day trip to Asia, he has traveled to more countries in his first year in office than any of his predecessors.

Since taking office, he has made 7 foreign trips and visited 16 countries, 3 of them twice.

The Asia trip – which takes him to Japan, Singapore, China and South Korea – will bring his total to 8 foreign trips and 20 countries.

(snip)

Foreign travel by American presidents is a relatively new practice. No sitting U.S. president left the country until Theodore Roosevelt in 1906. He made a single foreign outing: a 3-day visit to Panama in November of that year to inspect construction of the Panama Canal.

Neocons take note: Obama has reduced global tensions

By GottaLaff

Watch and learn, neo-con-artists. Oh wait. I forgot. They never learn:

Conservative critics of President Obama's foreign policy initiatives are having a tough week. On Thursday, Obama achieved a signature victory when the U.N. Security Council unanimously approved his resolution aimed at halting nuclear proliferation. His warm reception by the General Assembly [...] stood in sharp contrast to the welcome accorded George W. Bush, whose U.N. speeches were typically met with stony silence. Even the implacably hostile Russians suddenly seem amenable to U.S. desires.

"Fluff and stuff," groused Bush's former ambassador to the U.N., John Bolton, in reference to the nuclear weapons limits. [...]

Yet what neither Bolton nor other neoconservative thinkers have ever understood is that words, resolutions and friendly dialogue have considerable power in themselves.

International tension fuels extremism, oppression, terrorism and war. [...] Under Bush, eight years of unilateral actions, disrespect for international institutions, violations of international law and needless antagonism of countries such as Russia increased tension to nearly unbearable levels, served as a recruiting device for terrorists and produced gridlock at the U.N. that made addressing global problems all but impossible. It also strengthened hostile regimes in Iran, Sudan and Venezuela, among other countries, where leaders needed only to defy the United States to heighten their popularity. The result was a more dangerous world.

No, Obama hasn't produced world peace. But he has palpably reduced global tensions and deprived America's enemies of propaganda points. Isolationists, nationalists and neocons, who tend to do the opposite, should take note.

The Rushpublics, as is obvious by their recycled fear sloganeering, have been reduced to scraping the bottom of the desperation barrel.

Hillary Consulted Republicans, Neocons, Liberals For Big Foreign Policy Speech

By GottaLaff

Didn't we have 8 long years of "hawkish"? Correction: Chicken hawkish. Now Hillary has got an entire smorgasbord in front of her, and here's what, or rather who, she chose to add to her plate:

Hillary is set to deliver her high-profile speech at the Council on Foreign Relations, and is set to articulate her own policy agenda, one focused on strengthening America’s “smart power,” according to The Politico. It could help settle whether she has privately favored a more hawkish stance towards hostile foreign powers, as she reportedly has.

The array of people she has consulted for this speech is striking in its diversity, boasting a notable array of Republicans, foreign policy “realists” and hawkish voices. A partial list:

Henry Kissinger, Nixon’s secretary of state; George Schultz, Reagan’s secretary of state; Zbigniew Brzezinski, Jimmy Carter’s hawkish “realist” foreign policy adviser; Paul Farmer, a doctor and international humanitarian; Joseph Nye, a major proponent of “soft power,” the idea that persuasion and attraction can be more effective than coercion; Francis Fukuyama, who helped drive the rise of neoconservatism; Brent Scowcroft; the “realist” national security adviser under George H.W. Bush; Strobe Talbott, Clinton’s deputy secretary of state; John Podesta, the head of the liberal Center for American Progress; and Richard Lugar, the Republican Senator who has praised Obama’s response to the Iran crisis.

Hillary has also consulted with administration figures like President Obama himself, Defense Secretary Robert Gates, and national security adviser James Jones.

Now we'll wait and see what tidbits she chose from that extensive buffet. I hope they run out of overcooked hawk. Or at least, that maybe the menu includes some Chateau de Dove.

Anyone got a Tums?

Video- Obama Girls Prepare to Take on Moscow

Hell, I want to go if only for the cat show.

Videos- President Obama interviewed by the Associated Press

Foreign relations above, economy below.

Video- Like Obama, Lugar Advocates Diplomacy With Iran

Another week goes by and my D Senator is off cheerleading fatherhood and undercutting health care, whereas my R Senator acts like a well, Senator.

Majority of Americans Think Cheney's Wrong on Obama's National Security Policy

Cheney's giving a big speech on Thursday about his erm, the Bush Administration's Foreign Policy techniques. Keep on talking Dick.

• 38: Percentage of Americans who agree with Cheney that Obama has made the U.S. less safe
• 51: Percentage of Americans who think Cheney is wrong about Obama's national security
• 72: Percentage of Republicans who agree with Cheney
• 80: Percentage of Democrats who disagree
• 50: Percentage of independents who think Cheney's wrong

Read more Data Points

Pence, GOP to grill Clinton on Chavez 'aftermath'

You can watch the live stream here already in session. I think Mike Pence is one of the more dangerous asshats out there, but he may have met his match with Secretary Clinton.

GOP Conference Chairman Rep. Mike Pence (Ind.) on Tuesday afternoon called the photographs taken of President Obama and Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez shaking hands at the Summit of the Americas "an enormous propaganda victory for the socialist dictator."

Pence indicated that House Republicans intended to confront Secretary of State Hillary Clinton about Obama and Chavez meeting and mugging** for the cameras when she appears before the Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday morning.

He said that rank-and-file members have been discussing the "aftermath" of last week's summit where Obama and Chavez were photographed in "what appeared to be the friendly dialogue."

**Um, wouldn't this be editorializing in a straight reporting article Hill journalists?

Hints of an Obama Foreign Policy?

I'm perfectly happy with Bloomberg's take. Via Taegan-

With President Obama back from an eight day foreign trip, the New York Times looks for clues of an "emerging Obama grand strategy" but doesn't find one, recognizing "that may have been the point. Pragmatic, conciliatory, legalistic and incremental, he pushed what might be called, with a notable exception or two, an anti-Bush doctrine."

Of course, "looking for a grand strategy, a coordinated plan to use American power for broad goals in the world, is always risky. Anyone who tried to discern one 77 days into the Bush administration in 2001, months before the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, would have gotten it completely wrong."

However, Bloomberg says Obama tried to communication a simple message to the world: "America is ready to listen, consult and cooperate."

Richard Lugar is Key Obama Ally on Foreign Policy

Through the years I've had many conversations with Senator Lugar's office and always been treated very fairly, even receiving detailed responses that really were responses, not just form letters. I'm glad he's on the President's side.

Bloomberg notes that after first joining the U.S. Senate, Barack Obama "would dutifully sit through" hours-long Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearings while more senior members left, "an act of deference to the chairman," Sen. Richard Lugar, (R-IN).

Said Lugar: "Frequently, Barack Obama and I were the only two people left at the table. On several occasions I made a point just for the record that I appreciated his diligence and patience."

"At a time when bipartisanship has all but broken down in Washington, the young Democratic president and the 76-year-old Republican wise man are quietly working to restore the notion that politics must end at the water's edge. The two have spoken on the phone four times since Election Day, a contrast to the limited communication that Lugar had with President George W. Bush over eight years."

Rachel Maddow Show: Brzezinski Interview

When is Dr Brzezinski going back on Morning Joe? We could have used him this morning.

VIDEO-- President Obama speaks at State Dep't: "America's moral example" will guide policy

By GottaLaff

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Here is the video of President Obama's speech at the State Department. That would be the very same one that got the "rousing ovation" that brought the crowd to its feet.

He's not so much a breath of fresh air as a hurricane. Hurricane Barack.

Obama's Hawaiian protesters

By GottaLaff

What's to protest? He's not even in office yet. Here comes another pool report:

About a half-dozen demonstrators had assembled near the security checkpoint fronting the entrance to the $9 million rental home where Obama and his family are staying.

Some carried signs urging Obama to address U.S. Foreign policy when he takes office.

Wait, what? They actually feel it necessary to get the next U.S. president to address U.S. foreign policy? Like he wouldn't already include that as a top priority?

Silly me. ::smacks forehead:: I nearly forgot who's been in office these past 8 years.

Ann Wright, a retired Army colonel, wore a T-shirt that read: "We will not be silent" and carried a sign that read: "Change U.S. foreign policy. Yes we can."

Wright, 62, of Honolulu, said the demonstrators represented various groups, including her organization Veterans for Peace.

Other signs read "War Is Terror" and "Free Palestine."

Dems picketing Dems. There's something awfully healthy and free speechy about that. Here's their wish:

"We call on President-elect Obama to place the resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict at the top of his list of priorities of his new administration."

Why not... Bush placed it at the bottom of his, and look where that got us.

Look what's going on in Iraq, Syria, Gitmo, and Pakistan

By GottaLaff

We've been concentrating so hard on the election that some of this slips by us unnoticed. Well, it's time to notice:

Marine orders access to US secret prison camp at Guantánamo --Guantánamo commanders have long refused to say who runs it, or how much it cost to construct. A judge has ordered the Pentagon to give two military attorneys unprecedented access to a secret prison camp here in a ruling that specifically notes that alleged 9/11 conspirator Ramzi bin al Shibh has been mentally ill and may be still. Marine Col. Ralph Kohlmann, the chief judge for military tribunals, issued the three-page ruling on Sunday. He granted access to two Pentagon lawyers with top-secret clearances to inspect a portion of Camp 7, a secret prison camp facility run by a clandestine unit called Task Force Platinum, which segregates former CIA prisoners from the other 250 war-on-[of]-terror captives here.

Next:

Report on Iraq Security Lists 310 Contractors At least 310 private security companies from around the world have received contracts from United States agencies to protect American and Iraqi officials, installations, convoys and other entities in Iraq since 2003, according to the most comprehensive accounting yet of the secretive and weakly regulated role that private firms have played in the conflict. [...] The list, more extensive than any that had previously been disclosed, contains some familiar American companies, like Blackwater and DynCorp, but also hundreds of obscure firms.

Next:

Iraq VP: US blackmailing Iraq over SOFA The US military has threatened to halt vital services in Iraq if Baghdad refuses to sign a controversial US security pact with Washington. In addition to halting all military actions, US forces would cease activities that support Iraq's economy, educational sector and other areas- 'everything' - Tariq al-Hashemi, Iraq's Vice President told the US newspaper McClatchy. According to al-Hashemi, many Iraqi politicians view the move as 'political blackmail'.

Next:

Pakistan summons U.S. ambassador on border strikes
Pakistan's government summoned the U.S. ambassador today to urge an immediate halt to missile strikes on suspected militant hide-outs near the Afghan border.

And finally:

Iraq condemns U.S. assault on Syria
The Cabinet also approves changes to a proposed security deal, including giving Iraq the right to determine whether any U.S. soldier suspected of committing a crime should stand trial in Iraqi court.

Our next president-- that would be President Obama-- will have to deal with all of this. Look what Bush has stuck him, and us, with. Of course, the Republicans will condemn Obama for not resolving every bit of it within the first month of his presidency.

Obama Plays the "McCain as Hothead" Card

Pivotal moment. Thanks to Pam for the script.

Now, Senator McCain suggests that somehow, you know, I'm green behind the ears and, you know, I'm just spouting off, and he's somber and responsible.

MCCAIN: Thank you very much.

OBAMA: Senator McCain, this is the guy who sang, "Bomb, bomb, bomb Iran," who called for the annihilation of North Korea. That I don't think is an example of "speaking softly."

This is the person who, after we had -- we hadn't even finished Afghanistan, where he said, "Next up, Baghdad."

So I agree that we have to speak responsibly and we have to act responsibly. And the reason Pakistan -- the popular opinion of America had diminished in Pakistan was because we were supporting a dictator, Musharraf, had given him $10 billion over seven years, and he had suspended civil liberties. We were not promoting democracy.

This is the kind of policies that ultimately end up undermining our ability to fight the war on terrorism, and it will change when I'm president.

Laura Bush says IWRC* Palin lacks foreign policy experience

By GottaLaff

Pickles, Pickles, Pickles, what will the hubby say?

First Lady Laura Bush told CNN Wednesday Sarah Palin lacks experience in foreign policy, but quickly added the Alaska governor is "a very quick study."

Asked by CNN's Zain Verjee if she thought Palin's resume included sufficient foreign policy experience, Bush said, "Of course she doesn't have that."

Of course she doesn't. Unless you include IWRC* Palin's handshakes with those many upon many Fancy Schmancy Dignitaries. I'm sure they transmitted Experience Germs when their hands made contact... unless. Unless! Unless IWRC used Purel post-meet-'n'-greet.

Foreign policy experience: Poof! Gone in a disinfected flash.

*"In What Respect, Charlie?"

VIDEO: Joe Biden's Kick-A** Foreign Policy Speech

By GottaLaff



PLEASE NOTE: CNN'S VIDEO SITE IS ACTING UP. THIS VIDEO DOES WORK... if you catch it at the right time. When the CNN site works, the video works. Come back to it later if it doesn't play.

Biden is kicking a**

By GottaLaff

If you are not watching Biden speak, please do. He's explaining Obama's foreign policy and eviscerating Gramm-pa McCain's in a clear, forceful, easy-to-understand way.

He's destroying any notion that Grammps has even a scintilla of judgment. We will put the video up a.s.a.p.

If anyone didn't understand what has been going on in the Middle East, they will now. If anyone didn't understand how a McCain presidency would make it worse, they will now.

Per Paddy- link to live CNN coverage.