Obama ’08: The Path To An Even Bigger Disaster?
As I watch this clip of Dodd and Obama, I find, to my horror, that I think Chris Dodd is making sense in this particular case. After all, what does it say for Obama’s credibility that the people who “helped to authorise and engineer the biggest foreign policy disaster in our generation” (as he put it) seem to possess more common sense and wisdom than Obama when it comes to Pakistan? If even these people understand why he was wrong, when they understand very little else, why should anyone else embrace Obama’s proposal?
2 Responses to “Obama ’08: The Path To An Even Bigger Disaster?”
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See this memo by Samantha Power: http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2007/08/03/campaign_memo_barack_obama_was_1.html
And look how Richard A. Clarke, former White House counterterrorism official, who has briefed Obama on terrorism related issues, responded: I believe his speech is a comprehensive, sophisticated approach to terrorism. I was glad to see it recognized the importance of stopping repressive police and intelligence activities in countries threatened by al-Qaeda and terrorism. I’m also glad to see him say clearly that we are not at war with Islam but must partner with Muslims threatened by al-Qaeda. On Pakistan, I think it must be true anywhere that if we know of high value targets and the host government will not act, we have to do so.
The more I think about it, the less sure I am that you are right. Obviously, a mission like this would be very high risk and much would depend on tactical competence. But unlike the Iraq war, there would be a real connection to American self-defence and that would make a big difference in global opinion. I don’t think keeping Musharraf in power is such a big priority — in fact, a major problem with American foreign policy is how big a stake it puts on the survival of particular domestic politicians (see Yeltsin, Boris).