Obama's Foreign Policy: Buying in at the Bottom

[Beacool]

by Robert D. Kaplan
November 25, 2008

In the spring of 1977, Menachem Begin was elected prime minister of Israel and surprised everyone by choosing as his foreign minister not someone from his own Likud Party, but a star of the opposing Labor Party, Moshe Dayan. It proved a brilliant choice, as Dayan helped direct the peace process with Egypt that culminated with the Camp David accords.

In the fall of 1968, Richard Nixon was elected president of the United States, and rather than choose as his secretary of state someone from among his own supporters, he chose Henry Kissinger, a supporter of Nixon’s arch-rival, Nelson Rockefeller. Again, that proved a fortuitous choice, as Kissinger helped orchestrate a rapprochement with China, as well as accords in the Middle East and with the Soviet Union.

President-elect Barack Obama has now done something similar, picking a rival, Sen. Hillary Clinton, to be his secretary of state, rather than someone from among his own supporters. It could also end up a fortuitous choice. Clinton may not be as steeped in foreign policy expertise as a Dayan or a Kissinger, but neither is she a neophyte. Moreover, she will build a strong team at State from among her own supporters, notably former United Nations Ambassador Richard Holbrooke.

But the real reason that Obama and Clinton might enjoy success is something that goes barely mentioned in the media. Obama and Clinton are buying into a bottomed-out market vis-à-vis America’s position in the world. It is as if they will be buying stock after the market has crashed, and just at the point when a number of factors are already set in motion for a recovery. For President George W. Bush did not just damage America’s position in the world, he has also, over the past two years, quietly repositioned himself as a realist in foreign policy, and that, coupled with a bold new strategy in Iraq, known as the “surge,” has poised America for a diplomatic rebound, which the next administration will get the credit for carrying out.

http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200811u/obama-hillary-kaplan

A substantive article, as opposed to the mass hysteria expressed in some unfortunate threads that have been populating this board in the last few days.

;-)

[bunnies]

1. Maybe you should change the title to: Hillary kicked my dog!!11!

Perhaps people would read the OP then. :eyes:

Great read. Thanks for posting!

[Beacool]

2. Isn't it amazing????

Any crackpot with a tin foil hat can emit an opinion backed by anonymous sources, and some people on this board will almost break a finger trying to post it. But, post an article from a legitimate magazine that doesn't throw either Clinton into a funeral pyre and no one responds.

This board has become just as bad as a tabloid rag. Obviously, "unity" was just an empty platitude to keep Democrats from going outside the corral. They now don't care anymore about being inclusive. Heck, some of them can't even be civil. It's very disappointing.

:(

[bunnies]

3. Agreed.

Some are here to bash the Clintons, some are here to bash Obama, some will bash whoever is easier to bash on a given day... but they all seem to be allergic to any thread that doesnt shit on *someone*.

Funny... I thought the primary 'wars' would end after the election. Boy, was I wrong!

[Beacool]

6. Yep, it just proves once more that there is no real unity in the Democratic party.

There are various groups that sometimes come together for their own self interest, like it happened during the GE. Now, it's every group at each other's throats once again, particularly the Obama and Clinton camps. The Sharks and Jets have nothing on us.

I don't know whether to laugh or cry over it.......

x(

[bunnies]

9. Look on the bright side..

At least there are *some* of us who have managed to come together - despite the M$Ms charge to keep us ripping each other apart.

These days, some of my favorite DUers are Clinton people! Who knew?! I'd have never believed it a year ago. :pals: :hi:

[Beacool]

13. Thank you,

I have a mug that says it all: "Don't let the turkeys get you down". Quite apropos for the occasion if you ask me.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!!!!

:pals:

[Shiver]

10. It's been getting me down for the past few weeks

For the first time that I can remember, almost every faction of the party was united for a common goal; and look what we did with that unity! We got a black man named Barack Hussein Obama elected President of the United States, something almost everyone said the nation 'wasn't ready for'.

If we could just stay united, we could accomplish pretty much anything... but instead, people have again split into their factions and their pet issues, trying to push their agenda ahead of everything else. I think many have spent so long being angry they don't know how to not react negatively...

Great article, by the way. Thanks for posting it! Kicked and Rec'd

[Beacool]

14. You tell it, brother!!!

I honestly don't know what's the matter with some people. There are so many problems in the country right now, so many people are losing, or lost their jobs, their savings and even their homes, and what do we do around here? Eviscerate those who we don't agree with within the party.

Pathetic.........

Thanks for the rec. and Happy Thanksgiving to you!!!

:fistbump:

[TygrBright]

4. Thanks for posting. I really like the Atlantic. n/t

[Beacool]

5. You're welcome!!!

:hi:

[SemiCharmedQuark]

7. Great article! It's like taking a deep breath

:hi:

[Beacool]

8. Thanks, just trying to elevate the tone away from the cesspool

we have falling into on this board.

Take care!!!

;)

[Median Democrat]

11. Would HIllary Retain Holbrooke On Her Staff When The LAT Reports...

That Holbrooke himself was lobbying to be appointed SoS? I know Holbrooke supported Hillary during the primaries, but he recently has been lobbying to chosen SoS according to the LA Times. I guess it would be a good sign if Hillary does not hold a grudge.

[Beacool]

12. I don't know, but I don't see her not hiring him for that reason.

In the senate she worked with right wingers who actively sought to oust her husband, such as Lindsey Graham and Sam Brownback. They even apologized to her and have spoken highly of her skills. She also worked with Newt Gingrich on adoption legislation. Hillary is not the partisan hack, vengeful woman that some have portrayed her to be. So, I don't see why she would give a cold shoulder to a man who supported her during the primaries.

;-)

[pgh_dem]

15. Not for nothin', but...

If I were Sen. Clinton, and wanted to be SoS, I'd probably not be too happy about a favorable comparison to Nixon appointing Henry Kissinger.

If praise comes any more faint than that, it'd be inaudible.

[Beacool]

16. Well, Kissinger was definitely not "our guy",

but he was a very effective SOS. I think that was his point.

;)

[pgh_dem]

17. There are a whole lot of dead people in Cambodia, Laos and Chile

whose bodies lie at Kissinger's feet as testament to his effectiveness.

He's not just not 'our guy', he can barely lay claim to humanity.

All I'm saying is: if somebody compared me to Henry Kissinger, I'd take it as an insult.

[Beacool]

18. I understand and agree,

but I don't think that was the point of the writer. He was talking about the relationship between presidents and their SOS. Nixon and Kissinger's relationship worked and Clinton and Janet Reno's didn't.