President Barack Obama, flanked by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Secretary of Defense Bob Gates, this morning laid out a new U.S. strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan.
** NEW COLUMN COMING UP … THIRD TIME’S THE CHARM? AFTER WINNING TWO AFGHAN WARS IN A QUARTER-CENTURY, AMERICA TRIES TO MAKE SOMETHING STICK. (This will come after the Moscow conference this weekend and before the Netherlands conference on Tuesday.)
** BANKERS TELL OBAMA THEY’RE ON BOARD. BUT ARE THEY? Thirteen CEOs of the nation’s biggest banks met today in the White House with President Barack Obama. The meeting was designed to soften intense public anger against financial institutions for the economic crisis, and to get the executives’ support for Obama’s plans to create public/private partnerships to deal with the banks’ toxic assets problem and to alter the industry’s unpopular prevailing money culture and controversial executive compensation practicies.
Mr. Obama spoke extensively about how there had been a “cultural shift” regarding executive bonuses and Wall Street pay. He said Americans have the right to be angry. “The anger is real,” the president said, according to people who attended the meeting. “The industry needs to show that they get it on the compensation issue.”
“Excess is out of fashion,” Mr. Obama added, noting that compensation must be linked to performance. The bankers nodded but made no firm commitments. …
Solidarity was also elusive on the administration’s plan to mend the financial system by purging banks of toxic assets. After the meeting, Mr. Pandit and other chief executives said they were upbeat about the direction of the White House plan for a private-public investments in the banks, but they made no commitment to using it.
** MASSIVE MEMORIAL SERVICE FOR SLAIN OAKLAND POLICE OFFICERS. A crowd of 19,000, many of them police officers from around the state and the country, filled Oakland’s Oracle Arena today with thousands more in a spill-over crowd to honor the four Oakland police officers murdered over the weekend by a wanted parolee. The worst disaster in the history of the police department of the toughest city in California led to the largest police memorial I can remember in California’s history.
Former Governor-turned-Attorney General Jerry Brown, a former two-term Oakland mayor, U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein, Senator Barbara Boxer, and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger were among the featured speakers, along with Oakland Police Chief Howard Jordan.
Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums, who served decades in the Congress, was disinvited from speaking at the request of some family members of the victims.
In contrast, Brown, the mayor before Dellums, was hailed by the crowd. The former governor has been at the Oakland Police Officers Association every day since the shooting.
** CALIFORNIA BUDGET: AS PREDICTED HERE, FEDERAL RELIEF NOT ENOUGH TO AVOID FURTHER CUTS AND REVENUES. As I predicted below (see From The Arnold File), California’s state government is not getting the $10 billion in relief from the federal government that it would need to avoid certain budget cuts and taxes. It’s getting about $8 billion.
State Treasurer Bill Lockyer and state Finance Director Mike Genest made the announcement at mid-morning today.
That will mean 0.25% in income tax and cuts in some health and welfare programs that many had hoped to avoid in the current budget compromise.
** GALLUP POLL: ECONOMIC OUTLOOK IMPROVING. The new Gallup Poll shows that Americans’ economic outlook is significantly improved over what it was in mid-February.
Then only 14% thought the economy was getting better. Today 30% think the economy is improving.
Of course, 64% still think it’s getting worse.
** OBAMA ANNOUNCES NEW STRATEGY FOR AFGHANISTAN AND PAKISTAN. President Barack Obama, having completed his lengthy Afghanistan strategy review, this morning announced the new US strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan in an address in the Eisenhower Executive Office Bldg. (That’s the renamed Old Executive Office Bldg. for White House aficionados.) On hand for the announcement were Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Secretary of Defense Bob Gates, Central Command chief General David Petraeus, special envoy for South Asia Richard Holbrooke, and National Security Advisor General Jim Jones.
The new Obama strategy is a middle course between the full-bore nation-building touted by the late Bush/Cheney Administration and the high-end troop request pushed by Petraeus and some other generals and a more minimalist approach of maintaining a presence in the region to launch disruptive raids against Al Qaeda and Taliban cells and other formations.
In addition to the 17,000 American troops already ordered to Afghanistan, Obama is sending another 4200 as trainers for the Afghan army and police. He wants the army built into a force of 134,000, with 82,000 police, numbers smaller than the 400,000 combined pushed by the Bush/Cheney Administration. The current effective Afghan force is a fraction of Obama’s smaller target.
Obama is also dispatching hundreds of diplomats and experts in building the infrastructure of a functioning civil society. These people will fan out around the countryside, where the central government in Kabul has little current effect. They will also become Taliban targets, of course.
Obama is also tripling aid to Pakistan, to $1.5 billion a year. This is economic aid, not military aid, though I believe current levels of military aid will continue. But unlike past aid, it does not come as a blank check. Obama is requiring the Pakistani government to meet performance benchmarks, which he did not lay out in his speech, both in building the society and in resisting Islamic jihadism. No Pakistani government has ever done this.
US aerial drone attacks on Taliban and Al Qaeda cadre using Pakistan as a safe haven will increase under Obama, especially if the Pakistani forces do not ramp up their anti-jihadist efforts.
Obama clearly sees Afghanistan and Pakistan as constituting the center of the jihadist threat to global security. Iraq he sees as having been a very costly and time-consuming distraction.
Afghanistan was the base for Al Qaeda, which attacked the US on 9/11 and has launched notable attacks in Britain, Spain, and Indonesia. The Taliban regime both provided basing for Al Qaeda and shared in its jihadist goals. Now both are flourishing in and threatening Pakistan, whose intelligence service helped the Taliban into power in Afghanistan in the first place.
You’ll note that Obama’s announced mission is to defeat Al Qaeda in the region. But the means include a great deal of nation-building techniques.
Here is the full text of Obama’s speech.
Good morning. Today, I am announcing a comprehensive, new strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan.
This marks the conclusion of a careful policy review that I ordered as soon as I took office. My Administration has heard from our military commanders and diplomats. We have consulted with the Afghan and Pakistani governments; with our partners and NATO allies; and with other donors and international organizations. And we have also worked closely with members of Congress here at home. Now, I’d like to speak clearly and candidly to the American people.
The situation is increasingly perilous. It has been more than seven years since the Taliban was removed from power, yet war rages on, and insurgents control parts of Afghanistan and Pakistan. Attacks against our troops, our NATO allies, and the Afghan government have risen steadily. Most painfully, 2008 was the deadliest year of the war for American forces.
Many people in the United States – and many in partner countries that have sacrificed so much – have a simple question: What is our purpose in Afghanistan? After so many years, they ask, why do our men and women still fight and die there? They deserve a straightforward answer.
So let me be clear: al Qaeda and its allies – the terrorists who planned and supported the 9/11 attacks – are in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Multiple intelligence estimates have warned that al Qaeda is actively planning attacks on the U.S. homeland from its safe-haven in Pakistan. And if the Afghan government falls to the Taliban – or allows al Qaeda to go unchallenged – that country will again be a base for terrorists who want to kill as many of our people as they possibly can.
The future of Afghanistan is inextricably linked to the future of its neighbor, Pakistan. In the nearly eight years since 9/11, al Qaeda and its extremist allies have moved across the border to the remote areas of the Pakistani frontier. This almost certainly includes al Qaeda’s leadership: Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri. They have used this mountainous terrain as a safe-haven to hide, train terrorists, communicate with followers, plot attacks, and send fighters to support the insurgency in Afghanistan. For the American people, this border region has become the most dangerous place in the world.
But this is not simply an American problem – far from it. It is, instead, an international security challenge of the highest order. Terrorist attacks in London and Bali were tied to al Qaeda and its allies in Pakistan, as were attacks in North Africa and the Middle East, in Islamabad and Kabul. If there is a major attack on an Asian, European, or African city, it – too – is likely to have ties to al Qaeda’s leadership in Pakistan. The safety of people around the world is at stake.
For the Afghan people, a return to Taliban rule would condemn their country to brutal governance, international isolation, a paralyzed economy, and the denial of basic human rights to the Afghan people – especially women and girls. The return in force of al Qaeda terrorists who would accompany the core Taliban leadership would cast Afghanistan under the shadow of perpetual violence.
As President, my greatest responsibility is to protect the American people. We are not in Afghanistan to control that country or to dictate its future. We are in Afghanistan to confront a common enemy that threatens the United States, our friends and allies, and the people of Afghanistan and Pakistan who have suffered the most at the hands of violent extremists.
So I want the American people to understand that we have a clear and focused goal: to disrupt, dismantle, and defeat al Qaeda in Pakistan and Afghanistan, and to prevent their return to either country in the future. That is the goal that must be achieved. That is a cause that could not be more just. And to the terrorists who oppose us, my message is the same: we will defeat you.
To achieve our goals, we need a stronger, smarter and comprehensive strategy. To focus on the greatest threat to our people, America must no longer deny resources to Afghanistan because of the war in Iraq. To enhance the military, governance, and economic capacity of Afghanistan and Pakistan, we have to marshal international support. And to defeat an enemy that heeds no borders or laws of war, we must recognize the fundamental connection between the future of Afghanistan and Pakistan – which is why I’ve appointed Ambassador Richard Holbrooke to serve as Special Representative for both countries, and to work closely with General David Petraeus to integrate our civilian and military efforts.
Let me start by addressing the way forward in Pakistan. The United States has great respect for the Pakistani people. They have a rich history, and have struggled against long odds to sustain their democracy. The people of Pakistan want the same things that we want: an end to terror, access to basic services, the opportunity to live their dreams, and the security that can only come with the rule of law. The single greatest threat to that future comes from al Qaeda and their extremist allies, and that is why we must stand together.
The terrorists within Pakistan’s borders are not simply enemies of America or Afghanistan – they are a grave and urgent danger to the people of Pakistan. Al Qaeda and other violent extremists have killed several thousand Pakistanis since 9/11. They have killed many Pakistani soldiers and police. They assassinated Benazir Bhutto. They have blown up buildings, derailed foreign investment, and threatened the stability of the state. Make no mistake: al Qaeda and its extremist allies are a cancer that risks killing Pakistan from within.
It is important for the American people to understand that Pakistan needs our help in going after al Qaeda. This is no simple task. The tribal regions are vast, rugged, and often ungoverned. That is why we must focus our military assistance on the tools, training and support that Pakistan needs to root out the terrorists. And after years of mixed results, we will not provide a blank check. Pakistan must demonstrate its commitment to rooting out al Qaeda and the violent extremists within its borders. And we will insist that action be taken – one way or another – when we have intelligence about high-level terrorist targets.
The government’s ability to destroy these safe-havens is tied to its own strength and security. To help Pakistan weather the economic crisis, we must continue to work with the IMF, the World Bank and other international partners. To lessen tensions between two nuclear-armed nations that too often teeter on the edge of escalation and confrontation, we must pursue constructive diplomacy with both India and Pakistan. To avoid the mistakes of the past, we must make clear that our relationship with Pakistan is grounded in support for Pakistan’s democratic institutions and the Pakistani people. And to demonstrate through deeds as well as words a commitment that is enduring, we must stand for lasting opportunity.
A campaign against extremism will not succeed with bullets or bombs alone. Al Qaeda offers the people of Pakistan nothing but destruction. We stand for something different. So today, I am calling upon Congress to pass a bipartisan bill co-sponsored by John Kerry and Richard Lugar that authorizes $1.5 billion in direct support to the Pakistani people every year over the next five years – resources that will build schools, roads, and hospitals, and strengthen Pakistan’s democracy. I’m also calling on Congress to pass a bipartisan bill co-sponsored by Maria Cantwell, Chris Van Hollen and Peter Hoekstra that creates opportunity zones in the border region to develop the economy and bring hope to places plagued by violence. And we will ask our friends and allies to do their part – including at the donors conference in Tokyo next month.
I do not ask for this support lightly. These are challenging times, and resources are stretched. But the American people must understand that this is a down payment on our own future – because the security of our two countries is shared. Pakistan’s government must be a stronger partner in destroying these safe-havens, and we must isolate al Qaeda from the Pakistani people.
These steps in Pakistan are also indispensable to our effort in Afghanistan, which will see no end to violence if insurgents move freely back and forth across the border.
Security demands a new sense of shared responsibility. That is why we will launch a standing, trilateral dialogue among the United States, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Our nations will meet regularly, with Secretary Clinton and Secretary Gates leading our effort. Together, we must enhance intelligence sharing and military cooperation along the border, while addressing issues of common concern like trade, energy, and economic development.
This is just one part of a comprehensive strategy to prevent Afghanistan from becoming the al Qaeda safe-haven that it was before 9/11. To succeed, we and our friends and allies must reverse the Taliban’s gains, and promote a more capable and accountable Afghan government.
Our troops have fought bravely against a ruthless enemy. Our civilians have made great sacrifices. Our allies have borne a heavy burden. Afghans have suffered and sacrificed for their future. But for six years, Afghanistan has been denied the resources that it demands because of the war in Iraq. Now, we must make a commitment that can accomplish our goals.
I have already ordered the deployment of 17,000 troops that had been requested by General McKiernan for many months. These soldiers and Marines will take the fight to the Taliban in the south and east, and give us a greater capacity to partner with Afghan Security Forces and to go after insurgents along the border. This push will also help provide security in advance of the important presidential election in August.
At the same time, we will shift the emphasis of our mission to training and increasing the size of Afghan Security Forces, so that they can eventually take the lead in securing their country. That is how we will prepare Afghans to take responsibility for their security, and how we will ultimately be able to bring our troops home.
For three years, our commanders have been clear about the resources they need for training. Those resources have been denied because of the war in Iraq. Now, that will change. The additional troops that we deployed have already increased our training capacity. Later this spring we will deploy approximately 4,000 U.S. troops to train Afghan Security Forces. For the first time, this will fully resource our effort to train and support the Afghan Army and Police. Every American unit in Afghanistan will be partnered with an Afghan unit, and we will seek additional trainers from our NATO allies to ensure that every Afghan unit has a coalition partner. We will accelerate our efforts to build an Afghan Army of 134,000 and a police force of 82,000 so that we can meet these goals by 2011 – and increases in Afghan forces may very well be needed as our plans to turn over security responsibility to the Afghans go forward.
This push must be joined by a dramatic increase in our civilian effort. Afghanistan has an elected government, but it is undermined by corruption and has difficulty delivering basic services to its people. The economy is undercut by a booming narcotics trade that encourages criminality and funds the insurgency. The people of Afghanistan seek the promise of a better future. Yet once again, have seen the hope of a new day darkened by violence and uncertainty.
To advance security, opportunity, and justice – not just in Kabul, but from the bottom up in the provinces – we need agricultural specialists and educators; engineers and lawyers. That is how we can help the Afghan government serve its people, and develop an economy that isn’t dominated by illicit drugs. That is why I am ordering a substantial increase in our civilians on the ground. And that is why we must seek civilian support from our partners and allies, from the United Nations and international aid organizations – an effort that Secretary Clinton will carry forward next week in the Hague.
At a time of economic crisis, it is tempting to believe that we can short-change this civilian effort. But make no mistake: our efforts will fail in Afghanistan and Pakistan if we don’t invest in their future. That is why my budget includes indispensable investments in our State Department and foreign assistance programs. These investments relieve the burden on our troops. They contribute directly to security. They make the American people safer. And they save us an enormous amount of money in the long run – because it is far cheaper to train a policeman to secure their village or to help a farmer seed a crop, than it is to send our troops to fight tour after tour of duty with no transition to Afghan responsibility.
As we provide these resources, the days of unaccountable spending, no-bid contracts, and wasteful reconstruction must end. So my budget will increase funding for a strong Inspector General at both the State Department and USAID, and include robust funding for the Special Inspector General for Afghan Reconstruction.
And I want to be clear: we cannot turn a blind eye to the corruption that causes Afghans to lose faith in their own leaders. Instead, we will seek a new compact with the Afghan government that cracks down on corrupt behavior, and sets clear benchmarks for international assistance so that it is used to provide for the needs of the Afghan people.
In a country with extreme poverty that has been at war for decades, there will also be no peace without reconciliation among former enemies. I have no illusions that this will be easy. In Iraq, we had success in reaching out to former adversaries to isolate and target al Qaeda. We must pursue a similar process in Afghanistan, while understanding that it is a very different country.
There is an uncompromising core of the Taliban. They must be met with force, and they must be defeated. But there are also those who have taken up arms because of coercion, or simply for a price. These Afghans must have the option to choose a different course. That is why we will work with local leaders, the Afghan government, and international partners to have a reconciliation process in every province. As their ranks dwindle, an enemy that has nothing to offer the Afghan people but terror and repression must be further isolated. And we will continue to support the basic human rights of all Afghans – including women and girls.
Going forward, we will not blindly stay the course. Instead, we will set clear metrics to measure progress and hold ourselves accountable. We’ll consistently assess our efforts to train Afghan Security Forces, and our progress in combating insurgents. We will measure the growth of Afghanistan’s economy, and its illicit narcotics production. And we will review whether we are using the right tools and tactics to make progress towards accomplishing our goals.
None of the steps that I have outlined will be easy, and none should be taken by America alone. The world cannot afford the price that will come due if Afghanistan slides back into chaos or al Qaeda operates unchecked. We have a shared responsibility to act – not because we seek to project power for its own sake, but because our own peace and security depends upon it. And what’s at stake now is not just our own security – it is the very idea that free nations can come together on behalf of our common security. That was the founding cause of NATO six decades ago. That must be our common purpose today.
My Administration is committed to strengthening international organizations and collective action, and that will be my message next week in Europe. As America does more, we will ask others to join us in doing their part. From our partners and NATO allies, we seek not simply troops, but rather clearly defined capabilities: supporting the Afghan elections, training Afghan Security Forces, and a greater civilian commitment to the Afghan people. For the United Nations, we seek greater progress for its mandate to coordinate international action and assistance, and to strengthen Afghan institutions.
And finally, together with the United Nations, we will forge a new Contact Group for Afghanistan and Pakistan that brings together all who should have a stake in the security of the region – our NATO allies and other partners, but also the Central Asian states, the Gulf nations and Iran; Russia, India and China. None of these nations benefit from a base for al Qaeda terrorists, and a region that descends into chaos. All have a stake in the promise of lasting peace and security and development.
That is true, above all, for the coalition that has fought together in Afghanistan, side by side with Afghans. The sacrifices have been enormous. Nearly 700 Americans have lost their lives. Troops from over twenty other countries have also paid the ultimate price. All Americans honor the service and cherish the friendship of those who have fought, and worked, and bled by our side. And all Americans are awed by the service of our own men and women in uniform, who have borne a burden as great as any other generation’s. They and their families embody the example of selfless sacrifice.
The United States of America did not choose to fight a war in Afghanistan. Nearly 3,000 of our people were killed on September 11, 2001, for doing nothing more than going about their daily lives. Al Qaeda and its allies have since killed thousands of people in many countries. Most of the blood on their hands is the blood of Muslims, who al Qaeda has killed and maimed in far greater numbers than any other people. That is the future that al Qaeda is offering to the people of Pakistan and Afghanistan – a future without opportunity or hope; a future without justice or peace.
The road ahead will be long. There will be difficult days. But we will seek lasting partnerships with Afghanistan and Pakistan that serve the promise of a new day for their people. And we will use all elements of our national power to defeat al Qaeda, and to defend America, our allies, and all who seek a better future. Because the United States of America stands for peace and security, justice and opportunity. That is who we are, and that is what history calls on us to do once more.
Thank you, God Bless You, and God Bless the United States of America.
American troops are training a new Afghan security force chosen by village elders.
** OBAMA TODAY. President Barack Obama this morning announced the new US strategy for the linked crises of Afghanistan and Pakistan.
After receiving his daily intelligence and economic briefings and presiding over the swearing in of Attorney General Eric Holder, he holds a noontime meeting with the CEOs of leading financial institutions in the White House, including the chiefs of Citigroup, JP Morgan, and Goldman Sachs.
His aim is to get them to participate in the public/private partnerships in Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner’s plan to deal with the banks’ severe toxic assets problem.
Meanwhile, Vice President Joe Biden is signaling a fresh US interest in Latin America. He’s in Chile and Costa Rica through the weekend.
And, despite the big White House meeting with financial CEOs, Obama’s mind is geared mainly to geopolitics.
The big international conference on Afghanistan is next week at the Hague in the Netherlands. Another conference on Afghanistan, that of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization is convening now in Moscow. The US and Iran are participating in each conference.
And Obama is prepping for his big European trip next week. The president will be at the G-20 (group of 20 advanced economies) summit in London, the European Union leaders meeting in Prague, and the 60th anniversary summit of NATO in Strasbourg.
Obama will be in Normandy, France to commemorate the 65th anniversary of D-Day on June 6th.
** FROM THE ARNOLD FILE. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is in Oakland today meeting with the families and colleagues of four Oakland police officers murdered over the weekend by a parolee.
He will address a gathering of thousands of police officers from around the state and the nation at the Oracle Arena.
Other principal speakers include former Governor-turned-Attorney General Jerry Brown, a former Oakland mayor, and U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein.
I expect that an announcement will come today that state Finance Director Mike Genest and state Treasurer Bill Lockyer have concluded that there is not enough federal economic recovery funding directed to state budget relief to prevent the need for added program cuts and tax revenues.
** PRIME TIME O: HOW THE OMNIPRESENT PRESIDENT IS DOING. We can’t afford to go back, and things are on course. That’s the meta-message from six days of very high-profile appearances by President Barack Obama, culminating with Tuesday night’s prime time news conference.
“We can’t afford to go back,” as in, “We can’t afford not to transform this economy as we revive it.”
Stanch the hemorrhaging of our personal and governmental financial base on health care by reforming it. Transform our resource base by shifting from non-renewable energy sources dominated by countries we can’t count on to new, greener technologies that curtail the greenhouse effect, create jobs, and position America for leadership in new industries. Recreate our knowledge base by improving a slumping education system. Revive our physical base by investing in infrastructure.
As for the “things being on course” part of the message, what struck me most about Obama’s prime time news conference, the second of his young presidency — George W. Bush and Bill Clinton did only four apiece during the 16 years they served — was how routine it felt.
While the nation’s media culture seems only slightly less hysterical, Tuesday night’s White House event had little of the crisis-ridden atmospherics of Obama’s first prime time presser. …
** OBAMA’S RUGGED WEEK. President Barack Obama faces a rugged week with multiple challenges on the economy and in geopolitics. … Is this another bailout to Wall Street? Or is it needed pragmatism to work with a deeply troubled, farcically entitled though still necessary private financial sector? … Obama’s new Afghanistan strategy review, expected to be completed last week, now apparently won’t be released until next week, when an international conference on the troubled nation convenes in the Netherlands at The Hague. …
** OBAMA’S CALIFORNIA: THE ARNOLD ALLIANCE AND MORE. President Barack Obama is back in the East after a whirlwind visit to California which pointed up his strengths and suggested some things he can do differently.
Polling shows that Obama, who crushed John McCain here last November, 61% to 37%, is the only really popular politician in California now. The state is wracked by the recession, which took hold here earlier than most other places, and hampered by a largely dysfunctional state Capitol.
As important as Obama is for California, so, too, is California for Obama. …
** CNBC CAN SEE RUSSIA FROM ITS HOUSE, AND OTHER FIN DE SIECLE FOLLIES. CNBC can see Russia from its house. It’s just one example of a fin de siecle folly, albeit one of the the most recent and dramatic.This is clearly end-of-an-era time, but some of the old era standbys haven’t gotten the memo. Or been able to read it. …From my March 16th column.
** OUR MAN IN KABUL: BACKBITING ON THE EVE OF THE NEW OBAMA STRATEGY FOR AFGHANISTAN. With the Obama Administration’s strategic review of the Afghanistan crisis nearly complete — the report should be out sometime next week — the Afghan government seems pretty unhappy.
And not just about the situation in the country, which is not good, with successful Taliban attacks taking place even in the capital city of Kabul.
The current government, under the Bush/Cheney Administration’s choice for president, Hamid Karzai, seems disgruntled about a likely change in direction under President Barack Obama.
Publicly, Karzai supports Obama. But some of his top officials this week undermined likely key elements in the new strategy. …
** OBAMA’S DARING TOUR D’HORIZON: THE NEW PRESIDENT ENGAGES MULTIPLE CRISES AND PROBES FOR OPPORTUNITY. In the midst of the biggest economic crisis since the Great Depression, President Barack Obama is making major moves elsewhere. That doesn’t mean he’s not focused on the domestic economy; quite the contrary. To follow the conventional media, he’s doing little else. What it does mean is he pursuing a big agenda in geopolitics.
If the economic crisis were not so grave and the conventional media so insular, any one of these moves would be big news. …
** WHITHER WATCHMEN? IS THIS BIG, DARK, GEEKY, LEFTY MOVIE THE NEXT COMIC BOOK BLOCKBUSTER? … From my March 9th column.
** THE TROUBLE WITH TWITTER: WHY “TWEETS” ARE LIKE “BLIPVERTS.” … From my March 5th column.
** OBAMA: RIDING WITH HISTORY. (NOTE: As Barack Obama was inaugurated as the 44th president of the United States, this column was the featured column on the top of the front page of the Huffington Post.) … From my January 19th Huffington Post column.
** 24/7 LIVE TV NEWS FEED FROM RUSSIA TODAY. Russia has re-emerged as one of the world’s great powers. Click here for a live TV news feed on your computer, bringing you English-language, jargon-free, fast-paced coverage of global and Russian news from the new Russia Today channel. You probably already know about CNN International, BBC World, and Al Jazeera. Russia Today, which also features culture, entertainment, and sports, is based in Moscow and is owned and operated by the TV Novosti division of Russia’s state news agency, RIA Novosti.
While it’s quite foolish to expect to see, say, criticism of Vladimir Putin on Russia Today, which I know as a former DemRussia advisor, the channel is very interesting nonetheless. With U.S. cable news chattering away as it does, this sort of respite can be informative. The NWN live link to RT does not constitute an endorsement of the channel’s views. It’s presented as an otherwise unavailable new media window.
** 24/7 LIVE TV NEWS FEED FROM AL JAZEERA. With the US entangled in two wars in the region, it’s valuable to keep up with news and perspectives from the leading Middle Eastern-based TV news network. Based in the Gulf Arab state of Qatar, Al Jazeera is very influential and more than a bit controversial.
Click here for a live TV news feed on your computer. The NWN live link to AJ does not constitute an endorsement of the channel’s views. It’s presented as an otherwise unavailable new media window.
** SCHWARZENEGGER’S CALIFORNIA. Here is my series of five columns on the governorship of Arnold Schwarzenegger for the Los Angeles Times in debate with Pulitzer Prize-winning former Times reporter/editor Bill Boyarsky, whose columns are also included.
Among them is what I’m sure is the first piece examining Schwarzenegger’s legacy as governor of California. Since he will actually be governor of California until 2011. No technology known to be disruptive to the space/time continuum was used in its preparation.
** TRACK GLOBAL AND NATIONAL ENERGY PRICES IN NEAR REAL TIME VIA BLOOMBERG ENERGY MARKET WATCH. After crashing over $147 for yet another record on July 11th, crude oil is trading around $53 per barrel.
This is up about $19 a barrel since enactment of the Obama economic recovery program, on anticipation of increased economic activity down the line, and on increased implementation of already agreed upon OPEC production cutbacks to support the price.
Your posts are welcome in the Forum.
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| Comments (43) |
Obama gave a strong talk this morning.
I hope these Afghan trainees turn out to be pretty good.
That is a very clear statement by Barack. It sounds like a plan that can work. He sounds a lot more realistic than Bush.
“We will not blindly stay the course.”
We’d better not.
It’s clever that the recruit are selected by Afghan village elders. That gives the indigenous leaders a buy-in, roots the force in the community.
Jonas Blane Says:
March 27th, 2009 at 8:23 am
I hope these Afghan trainees turn out to be pretty good.
That’s too bad, but not surprising.
BB: I expect that an announcement will come today that state Finance Director Mike Genest and state Treasurer Bill Lockyer have concluded that there is not enough federal economic recovery funding directed to state budget relief to prevent the need for added program cuts and tax revenues.
I hope “Obama’s War” isn’t a quagmire.
I’m really skeptical about training native troops. Look how slow that’s gone in Iraq.
Capitol Boy Says:
March 27th, 2009 at 8:34 am
It’s clever that the recruit are selected by Afghan village elders. That gives the indigenous leaders a buy-in, roots the force in the community.
Jonas Blane Says:
March 27th, 2009 at 8:23 am
I hope these Afghan trainees turn out to be pretty good.
I wonder if Obama can’t get to the same goal by setting up some bases in Afghanistan and attacking the Taliban and Al Qaeda to stop their bases and protect the government in Kabul.
That sounds like “Vietnamization.”
Capitol Boy Says:
March 27th, 2009 at 8:34 am
It’s clever that the recruit are selected by Afghan village elders. That gives the indigenous leaders a buy-in, roots the force in the community.
Jonas Blane Says:
March 27th, 2009 at 8:23 am
I hope these Afghan trainees turn out to be pretty good.
Oh, history, bygones …
That’s the minimalist approach.
># Jack Aubrey Says:
March 27th, 2009 at 9:22 am edit
I wonder if Obama can’t get to the same goal by setting up some bases in Afghanistan and attacking the Taliban and Al Qaeda to stop their bases and protect the government in Kabul.
Well, it’s picked up in Iraq.
># Len Says:
March 27th, 2009 at 8:46 am edit
I’m really skeptical about training native troops. Look how slow that’s gone in Iraq.
Capitol Boy Says:
March 27th, 2009 at 8:34 am
It’s clever that the recruit are selected by Afghan village elders. That gives the indigenous leaders a buy-in, roots the force in the community.
Jonas Blane Says:
March 27th, 2009 at 8:23 am
I hope these Afghan trainees turn out to be pretty good.
Nope, not a surprise at all.
># Capitol Boy Says:
March 27th, 2009 at 8:37 am edit
That’s too bad, but not surprising.
BB: I expect that an announcement will come today that state Finance Director Mike Genest and state Treasurer Bill Lockyer have concluded that there is not enough federal economic recovery funding directed to state budget relief to prevent the need for added program cuts and tax revenues.
That’s the theory, to get the local leadership invested in the security force.
># Capitol Boy Says:
March 27th, 2009 at 8:34 am edit
It’s clever that the recruit are selected by Afghan village elders. That gives the indigenous leaders a buy-in, roots the force in the community.
Jonas Blane Says:
March 27th, 2009 at 8:23 am
I hope these Afghan trainees turn out to be pretty good.
This would be in the area of damning with faint praise …
># Capitol Boy Says:
March 27th, 2009 at 8:31 am edit
That is a very clear statement by Barack. It sounds like a plan that can work. He sounds a lot more realistic than Bush.
“We will not blindly stay the course.”
We’d better not.
Yes, but he was very sober. And not enthusiastic …
># Jonas Blane Says:
March 27th, 2009 at 8:20 am edit
Obama gave a strong talk this morning.
Do we have a choice on Pakistan and Afghanistan?
We can’t do what Bush did and let Pakistan slide and hope for the best. We can’t let the Taliban and al Qaeda take over Afghanistan again and use it as a base to attack us.
They have to.
Jonas Blane Says:
March 27th, 2009 at 8:23 am
I hope these Afghan trainees turn out to be pretty good.
lol
Bill Bradley Says:
March 27th, 2009 at 9:37 am
Yes, but he was very sober. And not enthusiastic …
># Jonas Blane Says:
March 27th, 2009 at 8:20 am edit
Obama gave a strong talk this morning.
I just heard the most accurate and succinct assessment of the political fortunes of the five budget measures on the special election ballot.
“Turd sandwich” – Anthony York
http://blogs.kqed.org/capitalnotes/
There are six initiatives, not five, and assessments are equally distributed throughout the population.
Oh yeah, I have a mental block on one of the measures.
It’s going to take a BIG campaign to get all of these into positive territory. Low turnout, tight timeframe and lukewarm support by backers are going to kill these things.
Turnout scenarios might surprise you. But as you can see, I’m thinking about Afghanistan today, not the Cap Weekly.
Yeah — the special election is still coming into focus.
At least Obama can go forward on Afghanistan without passing a ballot measure raising taxes.
Heard this morning again on local newsradio the ad with Coupal ranting against the budget deal but stopping short of urging a no on the measures. As Bill noteed before, this seems mostly about taking advantage of the controversy to refill the Jarvis Association coffers.
If any sort of effective campaign for the meaures is launched it at least can pin the opponents by asking what plan do they have. Miracle money and phantom cuts seem to be all they offer.
Any more video today?
PROFILE
EMANUEL, RAHM:
Ballet Student
Kenneth, what’s the frequency?
Obama’s speech is massively important and complicated. I am still not sure what I think of it.
As for “Triathlon’s” ravings …
…thankfully cut short by BB…
Triathlon, stop posting these ridiculous claims about the Mossad running the Obama White House.
I’ve told you this repeatedly, as well as told you not to write novel-length comments.
Take a break.
JB! The Oakland cops love Jerry Brown. Dellums is a terrible mayor.
** MASSIVE MEMORIAL SERVICE FOR SLAIN OAKLAND POLICE OFFICERS. A crowd of 19,000, many of them police officers from around the state and the country, filled Oakland’s Oracle Arena today with thousands more in a spill-over crowd to honor the four Oakland police officers murdered over the weekend by a wanted parolee. The worst disaster in the history of the police department of the toughest city in California led to the largest police memorial I can remember in California’s history.
Former Governor-turned-Attorney General Jerry Brown, a former two-term Oakland mayor, U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein, Senator Barbara Boxer, and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger were among the featured speakers, along with Oakland Police Chief Howard Jordan.
Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums, who served decades in the Congress, was disinvited from speaking at the request of some family members of the victims.
In contrast, Brown, the mayor before Dellums, was hailed by the crowd. The former governor has been at the Oakland Police Officers Association every day since the shooting.
lol
Bill Bradley Says:
March 27th, 2009 at 11:43 am
assessments are equally distributed throughout the population.
Bill,
Thank you for your article regarding the Oakland Police Officers. Please Tell JB thank you too.
Bringing village elders into the effort to train local anti-terrorist forces sounds uncomfortably like the hearts and minds operations in Vietnam. In trying to co-opt local leaders we assume they will share our objectives. Possibly they will. Maybe this time things will work better. And maybe not.
Fascinating media dynamic around the Obama Afghan strategy. There is clearly a yearning by non-neocon yet somewhat hawkish analysts and commentators (such as Bergen and Brooks and, soon, Bradley?) for a successful military adventure, something, anything, that resurrects the projection of American power and competency in the wake of the Iraqi fiasco.
They may have a point. Afghanistan is not Iraq. Besides, it’s always been Afghanistan and Pakistan (and not Iraq) that have been of interest to the West. Perhaps by asking the Euros and others for more money and less blood, Obama can build a successful coalition focused on delivering to Afghanistan the basic building blocks of a stable society– police, army, courts– while corralling the Islamists running amok in the borderlands.
What new video today?
Obama, and lights out in Oz.
I’m a hawk?
># Clutch J Says:
March 28th, 2009 at 7:40 am edit
Fascinating media dynamic around the Obama Afghan strategy. There is clearly a yearning by non-neocon yet somewhat hawkish analysts and commentators (such as Bergen and Brooks and, soon, Bradley?) for a successful military adventure, something, anything, that resurrects the projection of American power and competency in the wake of the Iraqi fiasco.
They may have a point. Afghanistan is not Iraq. Besides, it’s always been Afghanistan and Pakistan (and not Iraq) that have been of interest to the West. Perhaps by asking the Euros and others for more money and less blood, Obama can build a successful coalition focused on delivering to Afghanistan the basic building blocks of a stable society– police, army, courts– while corralling the Islamists running amok in the borderlands.
It’s a classic of counter-insurgency, going back decades before Vietnam …
># larry Says:
March 27th, 2009 at 8:23 pm edit
Bringing village elders into the effort to train local anti-terrorist forces sounds uncomfortably like the hearts and minds operations in Vietnam. In trying to co-opt local leaders we assume they will share our objectives. Possibly they will. Maybe this time things will work better. And maybe not.
You’re welcome.
># carole w Says:
March 27th, 2009 at 7:26 pm edit
Bill,
Thank you for your article regarding the Oakland Police Officers. Please Tell JB thank you too.
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