Obama's Next Op-ed
Senator Barack Obama boldly put his plan for Iraq in print on the op-ed page of the New York Times today. In it, he says he will "pursue a diplomatic offensive with every nation in the region on behalf of Iraq's stability..." I read that literally -- a diplomatic offensive with every nation in the region, including Syria and Iran. This is way overdue. After all, precious time has been lost since the likes of Larry Eagleburger, Ed Meese, Alan Simpson and Sandra Day O'Connor called for such action in their Iraq Study Group Report.
As Sen. Obama recognizes in his op-ed, and as evidenced by other news of the day, we have to shift our focus to the chaos on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. And that's really the key op-ed -- "My Plan for Pakistan."
I visited Islamabad on a Senate trip in 2003. Every street and marketplace and bus stop was teeming with people. They were buying and selling, and not just the goods of everyday life; they were buying and selling the ideas that will determine whether America wins or loses the fight against Islamic extremism.
A regional approach is crucial to our success in Iraq, but it is also vital to our success on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. And whenever you're dealing with Pakistan, you're automatically dealing with India. So the next op-ed won't be easy for Sen. Obama. I suppose the tragic folly of the Iraq War is that everything else is now more difficult because of it.
Why is it more difficult? Because the international community, if they don't downright abhor the Bush/Cheney approach, certainly don't trust our foreign policies. After all, we invaded a country on the false premise that it posed an imminent threat. Regaining the trust of the international community will be the next president's biggest challenge. Is it naïve to think that if the Syrians, Indians, Pakistanis, Afghans and Iranians trusted us, stabilizing the region would be less difficult?
In his piece, Sen. Obama alludes to the political attacks he will soon have to endure. As he wrote, there will be charges of "flip-flopping and surrender." But these attacks will likely come from the same people who committed the worst sin of all -- contributing to the fracturing of American credibility. As Sen. Obama considers a "My Plan for Pakistan" op-ed, it wouldn't be a bad idea to start by implementing the regional approach and beginning the hard work of restoring trust in America.
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Dear Senator Chaffee:
I was (and still am) one of your constituents who was forced to vote against you in the 2006 election. For the good of the country, we desperately needed a Democratic majority to rein in the Bush administration. I knew this, yet I wrestled with the idea right up to election day. Had you changed your affiliation from Republican to Independent (as you have since), there would have been no question of your reelection, since I know countless other Rhode Islanders who feel the same way.
Though it's a ways off, I hope you will consider running again in 2012.
Dear Senator Chafee I have long admired you and deeply regretted your loss. It was totally undeserved.
I welcome your support for Senator Obama's plan. Although Iraq is not the first time we have invaded another country that posed no threat, Panama and Grenada for example, a regional effort could go a long way towards resolving Middle East conflicts.
But, I hold little hope in that happening. There's a certain Senator, he's McCain's sidekick these days, who will do everything in his power and that of his buddies to derail any such plan.
He calls himself Lieberman, whereas I prefer to think of him as a traitor to state, party and country.
I admire Sen Chafee as well, but his loss was not totally undeserved. The single vote to caucus with the Republicans would have cost us the majority in the senate and enabled even more Bush enabling ... even if Sen Chafee had voted against it. Had he promised to caucus with the Democrats, I'm sure he would have won most progressive's support AND RI's.
I watched with admiration and gratitude as you grilled John Bolton about the war on terror and and role that the Israeli Palestinian conflict played in it, and then ultimately single handedly blocked his renomination as UN ambassador.
I also listened and cheered as you grilled Condolezza Rice about the same subject.
What is really amazing is that after so much verbal sparing, you eventually got both of them to concede
the central role that that conflict has played in our "war on terror" , Iraq, (and in my opinion, 9/11)
predictably, this administration has done almost nothing to prevent the spread of the settlements and the occupation that guards them, even though they are the engine that drives the conflict and that have inspired so much US and Israeli hatred throughout the Arab and Islamic world and so much terror over the decades.
I say all of this because I know you put every thing on the line to tell the truth and in order to do the right thing, and I want you to know that there are many people such as myself who will always see you as a hero.
I urge you to hold Barracks feet to the fire on this issue, in that he seems to be veering in a decidedly neocon direction on it as evidenced by his ridiculous statement about Jerusalem being the undivided capitol of Israel during his AIPAC speech. I will not vote for him if he maintains this stance.
Hi Mr. Chafee.
I remember when you and Susan Eisenhower (great granddaughter of Pres. Eisenhower) endorsed Obama literally a few weeks apart. And, I remember seeing both of you on CNN's SITUATION ROOM together at the end of the primary season, talking about Barack Obama.
I want to thank both of you for recognizing that despite his BLUE STATE credentials, he has a wealth of RED STATE credibility. And taken together, it is easy to see how Mr. Obama can maneuver around, and through, the political fault lines that have kept real progress from developing.
I know there will be battles and I know there will be some disappointments. But in the end, I know Obama will be president this country deserves in a time of global upheaval. We need someone who will lead us out of the muck and mire that is IRAQ, and back into the forgotten war of AFGHANISTAN.
Thank you for realizing Obama is the only one who can restore the international luster to America's star that the last 8 years have helped to destroy.
Here's hoping you get a cabinet position in Obama's Administration.
Thank you, , Senator Chafee.
You are a breath of much needed fresh air in this climate of political pollution.
I have admired and respected you ever since I saw you being interviewed on tv some years back.
I was so impressed when I heard not only your position against invading Iraq, but that you, a Republican, actually voted your conscience and said "NAY"!!!!
I believe you were the only Republican to do what the Democrats should have but didn't do.
To echo the sentiments of many, I hope you will be a running mate with Senator Obama, or if not vp, then perhaps a high level cabinet position, should we be so lucky as to have a President Obama.
Once again, thank you, Senator Chafee,
You are a rare breed - an honest politician, which sounds like an oxymoron in itself.
Some day, by all past performance (if you could call it that), you will all come to realize that there is, except for the rhetoric they are all convinced, not without reason that us peasants are happy enough to be distracted from the real problems so far none have even addressed, let alone discussed, that aside from their dog and pony show on what is sadly refered to as the "news", there really is so very little real difference between the Dems and Reps. that pretending that there is seals the fate of just one more failed empire and civilization. Actually fixing it? Too many cowards whose idea of 'duty' is printing sniping, name calling contests I used to think ended at high school graduation. A nation of cowards that won't stop denying till it's too late, which it probably already is.
Dear Sen. Chafee,
I have always admired your integrity and gentile nature, but I never could understand your affiliation with the Republican party. Perhaps you believed in a chimera that never was, or maybe it was something else.
I'm reminded of a dear friend of mine, now passed away, who was both a card carrying member of the Republican party and the CPUSA, go figure. Whenever I went to vote, he'd be there checking registration for the Republican party. I was baffled by this, and asked him why he was a registered Republican. He told me he worked the polls to ensure that there were no dirty tricks being played by the local Republicans, a nasty bunch of thieving corporatists and religious chauvinists if there ever was one, trying to unfairly exclude people from their right to vote. While his tactics were devious, it may be that they were an unfortunate necessity.
I'm not accusing you of being so devious or questioning your sincerity, I just wanted to bring that little story up.
On the lighter side, the gentleman's last name was Herd, and we had a joke about him wanting to be an astronaut so he could be the first Herd shot around the world. May he rest in peace.
Reading Obama's op-ed is a breath of fresh air after two terms of foul stench. Thank you.
Questions:
are the mercenaries that have caused so much sorrow in Iraq present in Afghanistan? Any plans to put them into that country?
Obama mentioned cooperating with the Iraqi government, but I saw no mention of respecting the rights and priviliges of the Afghani government. Why not?
In Europe there is talk about attempting to engage the Taliban diplomatically, while concentrating military efforts against al Qaeda. Any thoughts?
The Pakistani government have stated repeatedly that they reject the notion that American forces can operate on their territory ,as the Taliban rejected the idea that American forces could operate in Afghanistan. Does Obama (or any Republican) propose going to war against Pakistan next?
Republicans have been making the case for a preemptive war with Iran. What are Sen. Omana's views?
Lincoln Chafee for VP! Obama/Chafee '08!!!
I hope Chafee will have a future in an Obama administration.
Thanks Senator Chafee. Being from R.I. myself, I am honored that you and Senator Jack Reed represent our state.
"After all, we invaded a country on the false premise that it posed an imminent threat."
I'll bet the rest of the world would restate your premise: "After all, we invaded a country on the true premise that we intend to take control of their oil."
Obama's next op-ed is an easy one. He simply restates what America stands for, and rejects imperialism, then acts on those statements. We have no money, no influence, no power, so it is easy. When we adopt a national broadband policy, we create jobs, wealth, and alternative energy. We fix our infrastructure, provide single payer healthcare, and the world watches in wonder and admiration. It's easy.
Well-said, Senator. There are many moderates in this land who are appalled by what has happened to the party of your father and the President's father as well. Many of us admire you a great deal, and hope you have a place in the Obama administration.
God bless you, Senator Chafee. Even though I'm an unabashed liberal, I admire and respect your stance as part of that diminishing breed of small-government, socially libertarian conservatives, and I acknowledge that such a school of thought has a well-deserved place in any rational political discourse.
Keep working to bring the GOP back to its senses and away from the quixotic Neocons and rabid Theocons.
May I just say that I think we should always attempt to look beyond party, and vote for the country's best interests. As a senior citizen, I have often voted for Republicans, although I will not be voting for any Republicans this time!
I remember a time when the lunatic fringe of the GOP were just that - the lunatic fringe - instead of the main stream of the GOP. On the national stage, the neo-cons have no tolerance for moderation and reason, and would gladly eliminate all such persons from their party.
In other words, people like Chafee and Hagel are a dieing breed, going extinct ifyou will, within the Republican party.
Unfortunately, while I have the utmost respect for Sen. Chafee, had he been reelected, the Republicans would still have control of the Senate and Bush would be under no restraint whatsoever. Party and ideology do matter, in many ways, more so than personality in a democracy.
Thanks! You are great!
I'll second that...
I too always enjoy Senator Chafee's eloquent in-put.
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