Engaging with Iran

In an op-ed on Sunday's Washington Post, Brookings senior fellows Ivo Daalder and Philip Gordon make the case that Obama's approach towards dealing with Iran offers the best hope to rescue the US from the failed policies we've witnessed the last 7 1/2 years and we're doomed to re-live with a McCain presidency. Daalder and Gordon, the latter of which gave welcoming remarks to FPPFO's kick-off event last Monday, point out how wrong and misguided it is for us to assume that by facing the other way while waving sticks at them, we'll get anywhere with Iran:

"The right approach now is to end the anomaly of the United States not sitting at the table and to abandon the fiction that this dialogue is not a negotiation. Does anyone think that the six-party talks involving North Korea could have made any progress if the United States had refused to participate or if we insisted that North Korea completely dismantle its Yongbyon nuclear facility before we admitted that we were negotiating?"

The scholars also point out that Obama's position on Iran is often mischaracterized as a softening up to the Iranians. But

"what Obama's critics do not seem to realize is that the real penalties for Iran come in the form of economic and financial sanctions that can be increased even as negotiations go on, not in the form of a refusal to negotiate."

As Obama said at one of the early debates of the 08 primary season: "the notion that somehow not talking to countries is punishment to them -- which has been the guiding diplomatic principle of this administration -- is ridiculous."

Keeping our FP honest

Senator Obama showed foreign policy leadership and sound judgment by sending a powerful letter to President Bush on the Israeli-Palestinian issue this past Tuesday. He said three platforms were particularly important:

• that Israel had a right to defend itself,
• that Arab states should do more to further peace,
  
• and that the US should support the recent overtures between Syria and Israel.

We should not dismiss Anti-Americanism

Regarding Fouad Ajami's column in the Wall Street Journal on the issue of anti Americanism ; it is true, there is much to anti Americanism that is false. When subjected to careful scrutiny popular sentiment is easily deconstructed, it is often poorly thought through, overly emotional, even wrong headed, but it is rarely without truth and to dismiss it out of hand is an act of arrogance unworthy of anyone committed to democracy and the will of the people.

True attitudes to the United States are far more complex and nuanced than the pollsters would have you believe, and thank God. But, for example, to dismiss the anger of the Arab street out of hand, to treat it as no more than the collected prejudices of an ignorant people is not only wrong but dangerous.

Just as Americans have a right to feel angered by threats to their security, so too can the Arabs feel aggrieved by the breach of their sovereignty, by the presence of foreign troops on their soil and the intervention of distant powers in their affairs. By the corruption of their leadership and it's Machiavellian and self serving deference to foreign interests. That anger is dangerous is at least part of the tale of modern terrorism.

American foreign policy should not be defined by the popular opinion of foreign lands, but neither should it dismiss it out of hand. What people think and feel matters, that is surely one of the lessons of American democracy.

It is a mark of the genius of the American political system, that a mere seven years after those dark days of September the 11^th, it is undergoing a re-invention that the most brilliant minds in foreign policy would not have dared conceive, but that democracy in its own anarchic, unfathomable wisdom is delivering.

The nomination Barack Obama offers the United States an unparalleled opportunity. Here is a man whose story and vision is so compelling, so deeply American and yet so resonant that young boys in the Arab world sit at internet cafes following the vagaries of the American primary season. That the French in all their glorious intransigence have embraced as one of their own. A man who is claimed with equal passion by lands as far apart as Kenya and Indonesia. The wave of good will that will surely follow Obama's election is America's chance to rebuild bridges and regain the standing in the world that has served it so well in the past.

America will always pursue its own interests above all else and so it should be. What Barack Obama can try to do, is what America at its best has always done and that is find a way to align American interest, where ever possible, with the interests of the International community and to rediscover that virtues of soft power as well as the benefits of military might

The Importance of Soft Power

It is no surprise that the Bush Presidency has shattered any level of soft power or public diplomacy force the US had before he stepped into office. It is also no surprise when one of the world's leading foreign policy thinkers happens to come out in support of Barack Obama - in a strictly academic and apolitical way, of course.

Joseph S. Nye penned a very interesting piece on The Huffington Post about the prospect of Obama's candidacy from a soft power perspective. Needless to say, Nye knows a thing or two about international relations, and soft power in particular. The Distinguished Professor at Harvard and former Dean of the Kennedy School of Government explains that "it is difficult to think of any single act that would do more to restore America's soft power than the election of Obama to the presidency." As simple as that.

Soft power is just part of the pie, understood; a country must be ready to use diplomacy and military force as well. But it goes a great way towards helping restoring American power, as "it matters greatly whether the big kid is seen as a friend or a bully."

With soft power you are a leader by example and admiration, not by fear or negotiation. It is a completely separate and crucial aspect of foreign policy, one that the AGREE-OR-NUKE McCain team just doesn't seem to get.

Talk about national security credentials...

Senator Obama announced the formation of his Senior Working Group on National Security, a group of advisors that he will consult on a regular basis between now and the election. Obama will meet with the group for the first time today in Washington, DC for a wide-ranging discussion of the immense challenges faced by the United States in the wake of the disastrous foreign policies of George Bush.

"Each individual here today has provided extraordinary service to our nation in the executive branch and Congress. Several have been advising my campaign for some time. We're also honored to be joined by some of Senator Clinton's senior advisors. In the months to come, we'll be reaching out to others, as well as leaders in Congress," Senator Obama said. "The stakes in this election could not be higher. John McCain wants to continue George Bush's foreign policy which has made us less safe, less respected, and less able to lead the world. It's time to change course. It's time to end the war in Iraq responsibly, refocus on Afghanistan and al Qaeda, and renew our global leadership so that we can tackle the huge challenges of the 21st century."

Later today, he will also meet with a group of nearly 40 retired Admirals and Generals to discuss the state of our armed forces, and the challenges facing our military in Iraq, Afghanistan, and around the world. This meeting is part of an ongoing dialogue between Senator Obama and current and former military officers of various ranks and views.

Senator Obama's Senior Working Group on National Security includes:

• Secretary of State Madeleine Albright
• Senator David Boren, former Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence
• Secretary of State Warren Christopher
• Greg Craig, former director of the State Department Office of Policy Planning
• Secretary of the Navy Richard Danzig
• Representative Lee Hamilton, former Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee
• Deputy Attorney General Eric Holder
• Dr. Tony Lake, former National Security Advisor
• Senator Sam Nunn, former Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
• Secretary of Defense William Perry
• Dr. Susan Rice, former Assistant Secretary of State
• Representative Tim Roemer, 9/11 Commissioner
• Jim Steinberg, former Deputy National Security Advisor

Let's kick it off, shall we?

We're glad to announce Foreign Policy Professionals for Obama's kick-off networking event.

Please join us: Monday, June 23, on the Rooftop Terrace at 1101 New York Ave, NW, from 7-9 pm.

This is your chance to meet and network with the best and the brightest in foreign policy in an intimate setting and to be part of one the newest and most exciting initiatives of the Obama movement.

A prominent member of the Barack Obama Foreign Policy Team will give brief remarks and there will be a cash bar and a suggested donation of $10.

Please RSVP at: foreignpolicyforobama@gmail.com.


Together we will spread Senator Obama's foreign policy message, reinforce his national security credentials, and make sure he is elected our next President.

Yes We Can,
-Foreign Policy Professionals for Obama

Friedman's column

Thomas Friedman writes a very insightful column on the positive impact of Obama's candidacy on US-Arab World relations- but starts off on the wrong foot.

His column talks about being in Egypt when Obama clinched the nomination and savoring the the Muslim world's excitement. Friedman states that Egyptian officials "were particularly excited about Obama's nomination because it might mean that being labeled a 'pro-American' reformer is no longer an insult here, as it has been in recent years." One of the main obstacles to West-East healing (even before 9/11) has been that being considered pro-American in the Middle East is not only a danger, but looked down upon. Changing this paradigm could help immensely, especially at a public-diplomacy level.

Friedman continues that the excitement over Obama's candidacy reveals "how much many foreigners, after all the acrimony of the Bush years, still hunger for the 'idea of America' — this open, optimistic, and, indeed, revolutionary, place so radically different from their own societies." We'll take anything we can these days, after years of failed Bush policies, to connect with more people in that region.

But strikingly, Friedman starts off his column by saying: "This column will probably get Barack Obama in trouble, but that's not my problem. I cannot tell a lie: Many Egyptians and other Arab Muslims really like him and hope that he wins the presidency."

That's exactly what we have to counter. Why is being respected and celebrated (even if on a slightly superficial level) by the MODERATE Muslim world a liability? We have many allies in the region - but they're governments. We've had serious trouble convincing the people. Would we prefer the Arab countries' populations to grow more wary and disdainful of our country? The answer is no, and we need a leader who combines a sound foreign policy vision with excitement and respect from people across the world - especially the part where most of the anti-American sentiment comes from.