Bond “cautiously optimistic” over Obama approach to Pakistan

by Christina Lovato, University of New Mexico-Talk Radio New Service

This morning at a discussion on issues related to Afghanistan and Pakistan, Senator Christopher “Kit” Bond (R-MO) broke away from his Republican colleagues by praising one of President Barack Obama’s policies.

The plan that was unveiled last Friday would increase U.S. support in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Bond says the only way to address the long-term threat of terrorism in the region is to take a “smart power-counter insurgency approach.”

Recent attacks in Pakistan “underscore that the threats emanating from the region are one of the greatest national security threats and challenges of our time,” Bond said.

“The reason my optimism is guarded is because the President has split the baby between two competing camps in Washington and I believe in the White House today. The first camp focuses strictly on counter terrorism, or CT, and the second which takes a counter insurgency or coin strategy approach,” Bond said.

“We will not have success eliminating extremist elements in Afghanistan if we cannot confront them in western Pakistan. To do this we must fully engage Pakistan,” he said, adding that cooperation from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization is vital to success.

“NATO must supply more military and civilian assistance personal and remove cumbersome constraints on their people in the field,” Bond said.

But, Bond said, the U.S. “must work with Pakistan to find out what will be required to achieve genuine and measurable progress against terrorists and insurgents in the federally administered tribal areas and other border regions in Pakistan.

“There are three legs of the stool that need to be addressed in the region; security, development and governance,” said Bond, adding that security will only be truly established when local Afghan and Pakistan security forces are able to hold territory themselves and when they have the incentives to do so.

Additionally, “We need to have USAID and other development organizations coordinate better with our military forces to provide what local leaders want and not just deliver to them, one year later, what we tell them they need. This means working with local councils or tribal gurges to insure we are meeting their needs.”

Dog the blue dog

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

Grassroots advocacy groups are launching an offensive against conservative Democrats in Congress who are opposing President Obama’s legislation. Campaign for America’s Future has launched a program called “Dog the Blue Dogs”, which is aimed at persuading members of the Blue Dog Coalition into voting for President Obama’s legislation. The Blue Dog Coalition is a group of moderate and conservative Democrats in the House of Representatives.

Bob Borosage, President of Campaign for America’s Future, said that several Blue Dog Democrats are conspiring with the Republicans to be obstructionists of the president’s agenda, and are partnering with the likes of talk show host Rush Limbaugh to try to make Obama fail all together. The response from Borosage and groups like USAction is going to be a ground offensive against these Democratic members of Congress. The plan is to run ads in each member’s home district, informing the constituents of how their congressional representatives voted against the President. Borosage said that the campaign is about educating the public, not partisanship.

Senator Evan Bayh (D-Ind.) has been painted with a target for his position on the president’s budget. William McNary, President of USAction and part of Unity 09, said that his organization was going to be mobilizing grassroots efforts in Bayh’s home state of Indiana during the upcoming congressional recess, but could not elaborate on what specific strategies would be used. McNary said that if Senator Bayh wants some specific changes made to the Obama budget, he should express that in a clear and articulate manner, instead of simply voting against the bill.

McNary said that the public should not let members of Congress get “cold feet” about change. Borosage believes this reluctance by some members is because of the power of entrenched interests, rather than individual political stances. He continued that these legislators must “be heard by their constituents, not just their contributors”.

Borosage denied planning this with any of the Congressional Leadership, and said that White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emmanuel was also not involved.

Obama, Brown Weigh Financial Overhaul

The latest incarnation of the “special relationship” between the United States and Great Britain was on display Tuesday, as President Obama welcomed British Prime Minister Gordon Brown to the White House for a two-day visit.

Obama said ties between Washington and London were strong and would stay that way, calling it “a
a bond that will not break.” He said it was critical to the security and economic well being of both nations.

For his part, Brown said “It’s a partnership of purpose that is driven forward now by the need for us all to work together in unity to deal with the world economic problems.”

Those problems – which have engulfed the global economy – dominated the meeting between the two men, their first since Obama’s inauguration. White House officials said the two leaders have begun to outline a new set of financial regulations that they hope will help stabilize the global economy. Brown, in fact, has called for a new Bretton Woods agreement, referring to the 1944 conference that established global monetary and financial order after World War II.

The meeting laid the stage for next month’s Group of 20 Summit meeting, which Brown will host in London. The G20 is comprised of financial ministers and central bankers from 19 countries and the European Union.

STRAINED TIES DENIED

Reports the two men would hold a formal joint news conference were unfounded, causing some correspondents to wonder if somehow Brown was being slighted – pointing out that President Bush always held news conferences with Brown and his predecessor, Tony Blair. A top White House aide denied it, and Obama appeared to address the issue directly saying “I’d like to think our relationship is terrific.”

RUSSIA AND IRAN

Meantime, Obama knocked down a New York Times report saying he had offered an explicit deal to Russia in which the United States would halt the deployment of an anti-missile shield in Poland in return for Kremlin help in getting Iran to stop its “commitment to nuclear weapons."

Obama admitted sending Russian President Dimitri Medvedev a letter, but said the Times “didn’t accurately characterize” it.

The president said the letter, which was “very lengthy,” dealt with a broad range of issues of concern to both Washington and Moscow, including Afghanistan, terrorism. He added there was nothing in the letter that he hadn’t spoken of publicly, “which is that the missile defense that we have talked about deploying is directed towards not Russia but Iran. That has always been the concern, that you had potentially a missile from Iran that threatened either the United States or Europe."

Russia has deep business ties with Iran, including Kremlin assistance in building two nuclear reactors for Iran at Bushehr; Moscow is also weighing the sale of its sophisticated S-300 surface-to-air missile to Tehran. A Russian newspaper reported in February that the sale is on hold, at least until the G20 meeting in London, when Obama and Medvedev will meet for the first time.


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Democratic superstars rally to save planet

On Monday morning Al Gore said that it is an “objective fact” that the U.S. is the only nation which can lead the world when a severe crisis looms on the horizon, and that we as a responsibility to future generations to act. Gore spoke at a forum held by The Center for American Progress Action Fund, which discussed how a green approach to infrastructure and energy production can both create jobs and provide for long lasting stability in supply. Gore’s emphasis was on addressing the issue of global warming.

Among the panelists in the forum were Democratic heavyweights from past and present, including Former President Bill Clinton, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.
Gore emphasized the importance of reducing gas emissions and dependence on foreign oil, but also spoke on energy infrastructure, a topic which turned out to be the backbone of the forum.

Energy infrastructure refers to the methods whereby energy generated in one location is transported to the rest of the nation. For instance, if the Southwest generates a certain amount of energy in solar power, but doesn’t use all of that energy locally, the rest of it can be distributed to other areas in the nation.
The panelists placed great importance on sound energy infrastructure in the form of a nationwide grid. Pelosi said it was an “essential” element, and without it renewable energy would mean very little to the general national welfare. Pelosi went on to liken it to the interstate highway system, in that it is a program which the federal government should undertake in a uniform way for the expanded welfare of the country. Harry Reid spoke to similar effect.

Robert Kennedy, Jr., Chairman of the Waterkeeper Alliance, said that once the infrastructure is in place, the “energy is free forever”. On that topic, Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND) said that somewhere in the United States the sun is always shining or the wind is always blowing, and that this method for appropriating energy was truly sustainable. Energy Secretary Steven Chu and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar also voiced support of a unified energy grid.

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

Gibbs Gives First Official White House Briefing

Looking relaxed and jovial, Presidential Press Secretary Robert Gibbs had his first briefing with the White House press corps Thursday. Raucous at times, with every seat filled and some five dozen additional journalists crammed into the small briefing room, Gibbs was pelted with questions ranging from Guantanamo and the TARP to the how the First Family is settling into their new digs.

Most of the questions centered around Guantanamo, namely the series of executive orders signed by the president this morning ordering the closure of the U.S. Navy's detention facility there.

The orders, signed at a West Wing ceremony, specify the closure should occur within 12 months. Obama is also ending what the new administration believes are harsh interrogation techniques used previously. Obama has said the United States will fight terrorism “in a manner consistent with our values and ideals.”

The move means the clock is ticking on figuring out just what to do with the 245 detainees being held at Gitmo. Among them: Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of the September 11, 2001 attacks.

A senior administration official says detainees will eventually be classified into various groups, ranging from those who could be released, to those who cannot. The official said that some detainees could still be “in detention for years,” but added “but not without due process.”

Among the options at the administration’s disposal for detainees: repatriation to their home country or a willing third country, civil trials in the U.S., or a special civil or military process. The official told reporters that prisoners would be released or transferred on a rolling basis, based on how their individual cases are determined. The administration is now in contact with foreign governments to take detainees who may be released at a future date.

ECONOMIC BRIEFING

Gibbs also said that in addition to his daily intelligence briefing, President Obama is now being briefed each morning on the troubled U.S. economy. At this morning's meeting: chief economic advisor Larry Summers, Vice-President Joe Biden, Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orszag, Domestic Policy chief Melody Barnes and Jared Bernstein, Biden's economic advisor.

Gibbs, who repeated Obama's campaign pledge that fixing the economy is priority one, wouldn't talk about the $825 billion stimulus plan under consideration on Capitol Hill, or just what the administration would do with the remaining $350 billion from the Troubled Assets relief program, or TARP, passed by Congress last Fall. Some analysts on Wall Street are warning the money isn't enough.

Obama has ordered pay freezes for all White House staff making $100,000 or more. But Gibbs demurred on whether the president - whose $400,000 salary is set by law - would set an example for others by taking a pay cut.

LIVING "ABOVE THE STORE"

Meantime, how are the Obamas settling in at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue? Gibbs said the president "looks comfortable in his surroundings" and "enjoys living above the company store."

"They have a routine that works," Gibbs said, "and you have to give credit to (First Lady) Michelle for making it work for everyone, especially their kids."

KEEPING THE BLACKBERRY

And the president gets to keep his beloved BlackBerry. Gibbs, pointing to an exemption in the presidential records act that allows for it, says Obama will use it to communicate with a "small group" of senior staff and friends. The BlackBerry will have "enhanced security features," Gibbs said.

"What's his address?" someone asked.

Gibbs smiled and said "See you all tomorrow."