Former Secretary Of State Concerned By Key Element Of Obama’s Nuclear Policy

Former Secretary of State James Baker III expressed hesitancy Wednesday over the Obama administration’s pledge to not use nuclear force against countries that have signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty, even if they launch a biological or chemical attack against the U.S.

“I question the wisdom of that position,” Baker said during an appearance before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Baker, who served under President George Bush Sr., said his opinion stemmed from an interaction with the Iraqi Foreign Minister on the eve of the Gulf War, wherein Baker cautioned that the U.S. could use nuclear arms if the Iraqis attacked American forces with biological or chemical weapons.

“It is entirely possible, and even likely in my opinion, that Iraq did not use its chemical weapons against our forces because of that warning,” Baker said. “Years later when Saddam Hussein was captured, debriefed and asked why he did not use his chemical weapons, he recalled the substance of my statement.”

The restraint on nuclear force was included in the administration’s Nuclear Posture Review unveiled in April. Iran and North Korea, who have not signed the nonproliferation treaty, are still considered legitimate targets for a nuclear attack.

The former Secretary also posed questions over a number of provisions in the New START Treaty, including whether the program in place to verify compliance was satisfactory and if the treaty will provide a large enough nuclear capacity to protect allies. Baker also argued that the treaty should just focus on the reduction of arms and not seek to limit missile defense.

These concerns aside, Baker characterized the new treaty to limit both countries to 1,500 warheads as “a modest, and appropriate” continuation of the original START treaty that expired last year.

Reagan Statue Unveiled In Capitol

A statue of 40th President Ronald Reagan was unveiled Wednesday in the U.S. Capitol. The ceremony was attended by former First Lady Nancy Reagan, congressional leaders and James Baker III, the Reagan administration’s Secretary of Treasury.

“The last time I was in this room was for Ronnie’s [funeral] service,” Reagan said, referring to the ceremony’s Rotunda room setting. “So it’s nice to be back under happy circumstances.”

The seven-foot-tall bronze statue was sculpted by North Carolina artist Chas Fagan. It stands across from a statue of 34th President Dwight D. Eisenhower, and portrays Reagan smiling. It is filled with pieces of the Berlin Wall.

Following the ceremony, Nancy Reagan attended lunch with First Lady Michelle Obama.  President Barack Obama recently signed the Ronald Reagan Centennial Commission Act, which will set up a commission to celebrate what would have been the former President’s 100th birthday in 2011.

National War Powers Commission calls for new balance in time of conflict

By Michael Ruhl, University of New Mexico – Talk Radio News Service

Today the National War Powers Commission, co-chaired by former Secretaries of State James Baker and Warren Christopher, recommended to Congress a new relationship between Congress and the President in a time of armed conflict which has not been declared war. In his prepared statement, Christopher said that the approach they proposed would create a bipartisan Joint Congressional Consultation Committee, a body that the president would be required to consult with before deploying U.S. troops to any significant armed conflict, defined as “combat operations lasting or expected to last more than a week”. Christopher continued that if secrecy was important in the success of the operation, then the president must consult with the committee three days after the start of the combat. Within 30 days of the armed conflict beginning Congress must vote on whether or not to approve the conflict.

The proposed plan would replace the War Powers Resolution of 1973. Baker said that one of the biggest faults with the resolution is that “most legal experts consider it unconstitutional”, but went on to remind the body that the Supreme Court has not ruled on it. The 1973 resolution was brought about in response to the Vietnam War, which the president deployed military forces without a formal declaration of war. The proposed statute would improve upon the ’73 resolution in tempering the power of the president in armed conflicts lacking the formal classification of ‘war’, and as Baker said, “would promote meaningful discussion between the president and Congress when America’s sons and daughters are to be sent into harm’s way.”

Secretaries of state address the challenges the next president will face

Although the administrations they served held clear differences in their views on foreign policy, five former secretaries of state seemed to arrive at a unified conclusion: the next president will need to take innovative steps in order to restore the reputation of the United States abroad.

Speaking at a George Washington University forum on the challenges of the next president, former secretaries of state Madeline Albright, James Baker, Warren Christopher, Henry Kissinger, and Colin Powell touched upon a myriad of topics, including how the U.S. should engage with increasingly hostile regimes, what steps the next president should take to combat climate change, and what should be done about the current brood of humanitarian crises.

Iraq played an important role in the hour-and-a-half discussion and brought forth a disagreement between Albright and Kissinger. When faced with the question of whether or not the U.S. should adopt a timetable for troop withdrawal, Kissinger remarked that it gave every opponent the opportunity to hold out for a deadline. Albright replied,

"There's a difference from saying that we have to remove our troops by 16 months and saying we need to bring them out at x minute."

The five secretaries also backed future support of NATO, despite recent aggression from Russia.

"The Russian Federation is not going to be the Soviet Union. That movie failed at the box office," said Powell.

Domestic issues were also addressed. Baker, who also served as the Secretary of Treasury from 1985–1988 commented that the recent collapse of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and Lehman Brothers was one of the worst economic disasters in the century and agreed with the recent decision to not bail out any more banks.

The election was discussed in the closing segment of the forum. Baker mentioned that he endorsed McCain, Albright said that she was supporting Barack Obama, and Powell continued to withhold his endorsement, saying that he will wait until the debates. When asked by moderator Frank Sesno if he was having a hard time deciding since Powell was the first black Secretary of State and Obama stands to be the first black President, Powell simply announced that he was an American first and foremost and would not let either his friendship with McCain or his similarity in race with Obama influence his decision.

While Kissinger did not mention whether or not he would endorse a candidate he did give his opinion on the superfluous nature of the presidential race.

"I think the 24 hour news cycle and constant demands produce a necessity on the candidate to pretend they have an answer to every question."

New statute of war gives Congress a seat at the table

The two Co-chairs of the National War Powers Commission, former Secretary of States James Baker, III and Warren Christopher, led a news conference in order to release findings and recommendations on the war powers of the president and Congress. Baker explained that the commission is independent and bipartisan and discusses how the U.S. makes the decision to enter into war. Baker also said that after thirteen months of study the commission unanimously declared that the War Powers Resolution of 1973 has failed to promote cooperation between the two branches of government.

Baker said that a new statute must be created in which the importance of meaningful discussion between the president and Congress is established. He explained that the commission recommends the War Powers Consultation Act of 2009 which would establish a clear process on decisions to go to war. Baker also said that this act would not limit the power of either the executive or legislative branches of government and would benefit everyone in the United States. He said that the new statute will create a process that will encourage the two branches to cooperate and consult in a way that is both practical and true to the spirit of the Constitution.

Christopher said that out of all the decisions the U.S. government must face, the decision to go to war is the most fateful. Christopher explained that the War Powers Consultation Act of 2009 provides that the president consult with Congress before deploying U.S. troops into “significant armed conflict” and defines the types of hostilities that would or would not be considered “significant armed conflicts.” The act also creates a new Joint Congressional Consultation Committee, establishes a permanent bipartisan staff with access to the national security and intelligence information necessary to conduct its work, and calls on Congress to vote up or down on significant armed conflicts within 30 days.

Another member of the committee, former Rep. Lee Hamilton, said that by enabling this act the U.S. government will take a “big step forward on a critically important point.” Hamilton explained that the president should always receive the best advice possible when it comes to making the decision of entering into war, and Congress can help give him this advice. Hamilton also said that he hopes the act will be supported by the next president and enacted early on because it would be “a wonderful start to the new administration.”