James Baker: Talking to an enemy is NOT appeasement

Nice rebuttal to President George W. Bush and Senator John McCain. James Baker in 2006 explains diplomacy and discusses what is and is not appeasement.

Senator Obama’s interview with BlogHer

A representative from BlogHer, the community for women who blog, asks Senator Obama 12 questions, ranging from the Iraq War to poverty.

Colin Powell praises Obama

In an interview with Diane Sawyer, General Colin Powell talks about the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the merits of boycotting the Olympic opening ceremonies, as well as the presidential candidates (though he hasn’t decided for whom he’ll vote). Though Powell condemned Wright’s controversial remarks, he considered the broader picture.

“Rev. Wright is also somebody who has made enormous contributions in his community and has turned a lot of lives around,” Powell said, “And so, I have to put that in context with these very offensive comments that he made, which I reject out of hand.”

Powell added that he does not know Wright, and praised Obama’s response.

“I think that Sen. Obama handled the issue well . . . he didn’t look the other way. He didn’t wait for the, for the, you know, for the storm to go over. He went on television, and I thought, gave a very, very thoughtful, direct speech. And he didn’t abandon the minister who brought him closer to his faith,” Powell told Sawyer.

Powell, who has been mentioned as a possible vice presidential candidate in almost every election since he retired from military service and public life, expressed admiration for Obama.

“It was a good (speech),” Powell said. “I admired him for giving it. And I agreed with much of what he said.”

Obama: What is the definition of success in Iraq?

During the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearings, Senator Obama questioned General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker about the situation in Iraq. Obama was clear in his assessment that the US needed to apply measured, but increased pressure on the Iraqis. Thanks to Talking Points Memo videos and analysis.

Barack Obama on Hardball: The College Tour

In case you missed it, Barack Obama answered questions from the audience as well as Chris Matthews on Hardball

Lee Hamilton endorses Barack Obama

Read the full article. 

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has won the endorsement of one of his party’s top foreign policy figures, Lee Hamilton, who hails from Indiana, home to one of the next crucial primary votes. 

Hamilton, a former U.S. House member who co-chaired the commission that investigated the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and headed the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, said he was impressed by Obama’s approach to national security and foreign policy.

“I read his national security and foreign policy speeches, and he comes across to me as pragmatic, visionary and tough,” Hamilton said in an interview. “He impresses me as a person who wants to use all the tools of presidential power.”

Chuck Hagel on Diane Rehm (NPR)

Senator Chuck Hagel (R-NE) spoke candidly about the Iraq War and the Bush Administration’s mishandling of it. Hagel says that most Americans still believe that the mission in Iraq is about terrorism. The senator unequivocally states that the front on terrorism is not in Iraq. The front on terrorism is between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Iraq is about nation-building. Link to podcast. Click on either Real Audio or Windows Media. See snapshot below.

Obama Proposes Intelligence Reform

In Intelligence Revolutionary, Barron YoungSmith, intern at The New Republic, explains what Senator Obama means when he says, “I don’t want to just end the war. I want to end the mindset that got us in the war.” YoungSmith states that Obama’s proposal to give the Director of Intelligence (DNI) a fixed term (like that of the Federal Reserve chairman) will help to cultivate an independent, non-ideological assessment of intelligence.

By contrast, Obama’s proposal reaffirms exactly that view: in saying the DNI should be like the Chairman of the Federal Reserve, (rather than, say, the Secretary of Defense, who always serves at the pleasure of the President), the candidate is throwing his weight behind the idea that the intelligence community (IC) should be an independent assessor of empirically-verifiable facts; that intelligence assessment is a non-ideological exercise in finding out what’s true and what’s not.

Barack Obama: On Iraq and Nation Security

On the 5th anniversary of the Iraq War, Senator Obama gave a major address in Fayetteville, North Carolina.