David Ignatius: Obama is outflanking rivals on the left and right

[Colobo]

Indeed, you can argue that over the past month, Obama has been shaping the foreign policy debate for the Democrats - and getting the best of the arguments. By last Sunday's televised debate in Iowa, nobody else seemed eager to challenge Obama's postulate that "strong countries and strong presidents meet and talk with our adversaries." And there was little repetition, either, of the tut-tutting that greeted his statement that he would be prepared to go after Al-Qaeda terrorists in Pakistan, with or without President Musharraf's blessing.

Senator Hillary Clinton's stance has been more cautious, seeking to convey a general but vaguely defined sense that her toughness and experience would make her a strong president. Obama is taking the opposite tack.

Obama added some new (and potentially controversial) foreign policy details in an interview Tuesday afternoon, before he hopped a plane for his next stop in New Hampshire. He said he expects there will still be American troops in Iraq when the next president takes office, and he is discussing now with his advisers how this residual force should be used. "For getting out in an orderly way, withdrawing one to two brigades a month is realistic," he said. With 20 combat brigades currently in Iraq, that would imply a withdrawal schedule of at least a year.

So what should the remaining troops do? Obama says he would support keeping US forces in and around Iraq for protection of American personnel there, for counterterrorist operations against Al-Qaeda, for protecting Iraq's borders, and perhaps for continued training of Iraq's military if that country's political situation permits. He also said US troops should be available to help stop any future "bloodbath" in Iraq, but only as part of a wider international effort.

And what of diplomatic contacts with America's adversaries, such as Iran? Obama said he would talk to Iranian leaders about stabilizing Iraq, where he says they have a common interest, about halting Iranian terrorist activities in Iraq, and about the Iranian nuclear program. He said he would make suspension of nuclear enrichment by Iran a topic for discussions, rather than a precondition as it is for the Bush administration.

Obama is deftly managing to outflank his Democratic rivals on both the left and right on key foreign policy issues. That may be a piece of political opportunism on his part, but a top Obama adviser gives it a different spin, which may reveal the essence of the man: "He is totally pragmatic. He asks what would work and what wouldn't."

More here:
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=5&article_id=84708

[jaysunb]

1. Time to turn the page....

indeed.

[illinoisprogressive]

2. I was just going to post this. lol. Very good article.

[AtomicKitten]

3. Gobama.

[zulchzulu]

4. K&R

All the footnippers who have been yapping about Obama's various foreign policy statements have themselves agreed with his positions before they decided to go the phony political theater route and seem to forget and contrast their previous position.