Obama campaign defends Iraq strategy

The Obama campaign hosted a conference call today with Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.) and Senior Foreign Policy Adviser Susan Rice to discuss Sen. Barack Obama's (D-Ill.) opinion piece in The New York Times today, in which he outlines his strategic plan for success in Iraq.

Biden stated that Obama's plan for Iraq is far more in line with the needs and desires of the military. This was echoed by Rice, who stated that currently our forces are overstretched and our existing military installments in the region are unsustainable. Rice went on to say that McCain's plan calls for Korea-style bases in Iraq that would remain in the nation for an indefinite amount of time.

Biden concluded by stating that he believes there are large terrorist networks requiring the attention of the US residing in both Afghanistan and Pakistan, but not Iraq. As such, withdrawing from Iraq would be extremely important for ensuring that the United States is successful in stopping terrorist threats.

Rice also stated that, contrary to statements from the McCain campaign, Sen. Obama has remained consistent on his strategy for Iraq.

Pakistan: An outpost for democracy?

Senator Joe Biden (D-Del.), Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee presided over a hearing on Pakistan and it’s role in American foreign policy. Biden said that in order to establish a lasting, comfortable relationship between Pakistan and America, the U.S. should triple non security aide to 1.5 billion dollars annually and pledge that amount over the next ten years. He also called for a billion dollar democracy dividend, which would help moderate, secular, political leaders show the Pakistani people that they can deliver.

He said that this plan would change the dynamic of the Pakistan-U.S. relationship because it could persuade the Pakistani’s that America is not a fair weather friend but an “all weather friend” and show Pakistani leaders that America is an ally that can be relied upon.

Biden said that the Pakistani American relationship was been transactional. He said that Americans believe that they are paying to much to Pakistan and receiving to little, and the Pakistani’s believe the opposite. The only way to make things better, he said, is with long term non-security related investment.

Former USSR upcoming oil source

Noting Americans’ concern about oil prices, the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee met to discuss energy potential in the Central Asian states. Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.) said that Central Asia is strategic to US energy security. In his submitted statement, Sen. Dick Lugar (R-Ind.) said that Central Asian states would benefit by lessening their reliance on Russia and increasing trade relations with Europe and North America.

Lugar stated that finishing the East-West corridor, a pipeline that would carry oil from the Caspian Sea region to European markets, should become a priority of the transatlantic community. He advocated increasing diplomacy with Kazakhstan, supporting democratic transitions in the region, and linking energy from the Caspian Sea with Central Europe directly.

Zbigniew Brzezinski, former national security adviser to President Carter, attended the hearing to discuss US relations with Russia. Brzezinski spoke of a long-term relationship between North America, Europe, and Russia, a relationship he characterized as “Vancouver to Vladivostok.” In this agreement, Brzezinski said that both sides would benefit; Russia would provide energy resources while Europe and North America would supply the necessary infrastructure. Brzezinski said that Russia’s desire to maintain a monopoly on Central Asia and repeatedly cutting energy to the Baltic states damage the potential of this relationship.

Brzezinski also spoke briefly on US relations with Iran. Brzezinski said that the US must recognize Iran’s energy potential, stating that Iran’s government is losing support among its modern and sophisticated youth. Brzezinski added that a military conflict with Iran would not only be extraordinarily destabilizing to the United States in the short run, but that it would also cause the US to become caught in conflict over a large region stretching from Iraq to Pakistan.

Sovereign wealth funds may not be “a real problem”

The Senate Foreign Affairs Committee held a full committee hearing on “Sovereign Wealth Funds: Foreign Policy Consequences in an Era of New Money.” The Chairman of the committee, Senator Joe Biden (D-Del.), said that although rising oil prices and the housing crisis are top concerns, there is also cause for worry in the use of sovereign wealth funds to accomplish political goals. Biden mentioned Saudi Arabia and China as having huge sovereign wealth funds from their export economies. He said that the possibility of those funds being used to make political changes is “a real problem.”

Jagdish Bhagwati, professor of law and economics at Columbia University, said that Biden’s concern was not unwarranted. He explained that a rapid reversal of roles put the U.S. in a position of dependency on foreign funds, which is cause for anxiety. But, Daniel Drezner, professor of international politics at Tufts University’s Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, said that sovereign wealth funds are generally benign in their effects and that most are only used for maximizing rate of return, rather than for political tasks.

David Marchick, managing director and global head of regulatory affairs at The Carlyle Group, said that investments through sovereign wealth funds should be welcomed, but that any investments that may be threatening to national security should be heavily scrutinized.

Global food prices up 43 percent

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee held a hearing on “Responding to the Global Food Crisis,” focusing in particular on U.S. agricultural investment in foreign nations and how the development of corn-based ethanol and other biofuels have contributed to the rise in food prices.

Edward Lazear, chairman for the Council of Economic Advisors, said that global food inflation was 43 percent during the 12 months ending in March 2008. He emphasized that Americans spend less than 14 percent of total expenditures on food, while Africans spend about 43 percent and for the poorest populations in Sub-Saharan Africa subsisting on less than one dollar per day, this figure may be as high as 70 percent.

Lazear testified that wheat prices have increased 123 percent, soybeans 66 percent, corn 37 percent, and rice 36 percent. Emerging market consumption, he said, has increased by 45 percent from 2001 to 2007 compared to 1991 to 2000, and that this increase in demand accounts for about 18 percent of the rise in food prices. Other factors, he said, are adverse weather conditions that destroy crops and to a smaller degree, ethanol production. He said that the world’s ethanol production accounts for approximately 13 percent of this year’s 37 percent increase in corn prices, and since corn makes up a small fraction of the International Monetary Fund’s Global Food Index, it is responsible for only about 1.2 percent of the year’s 43 percent total global food price increase.

U.S. Agency for International Development Administrator Henrietta Fore testified that the world’s one billion poorest people are living on one U.S. dollar per day, and that while Africa and Asia suffer most from this kind of poverty, Haiti is also facing a crisis. She also said that three-quarters of the world’s poorest people living on less than 50 cents per day are located in Africa. She advocated changing trade policies that present barriers to food supply and said that U.S. agricultural investment would be “enormously positive.” She mentioned that “even short term hunger” can “unalterably” affect a child through increased risk for disease, cognitive and developmental malfunction, and early death.

Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN) said that people in nearly 40 countries face food shortages and potential civil unrest as a result. In 1980, he said, agricultural projects accounted for 30 percent of World Bank spending, whereas in 2007 that number was less than 13 percent. Along with Chairman Joe Biden (D-DE), he called for a “second Green Revolution” to increase agricultural research, development, and investment in order to augment yield per acre of crops by improving techniques. He said such an initiative would “benefit developed and developing countries alike,” as would removing trade barriers and tariffs. He also said that ethanol research cannot be curtailed because of its contribution to food price increases because it would put additional pressure on oil prices, which he emphasized is already at $120 per barrel.