The AP is reporting that the Iraqi government met with Barack Obama today and then reiterated that they want us out of their country on Obama’s basic timeline.
Iraq’s government spokesman is hopeful that U.S. combat forces could be out of the country by 2010.
Ali al-Dabbagh made the comments following a meeting in Baghdad on Monday between Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama, who arrived in Iraq earlier in the day.
The timeframe is similar to Obama’s proposal to pull back combat troops within 16 months.
Asked to respond, McCain said, “The Surge…The Suurrrrrge!!”
It’s interesting that Jack Reed and Chuck Hagel were chosen to accompany Obama on this trip. A lot of people are speculating that Reed might be a selected as Obama’s running mate and Hagel could become Secretary of Defense. I’m not saying that is uninformed speculation, but it isn’t the most logical explanation. Hagel is a creature of the Senate Foreign Relations committee which oversees the Department of State, while Reed is the fifth ranking member on the Senate Armed Services Committee (fourth, if you exclude Lieberman) which oversees the Pentagon. As a matter of experience, Hagel is far more qualified to run the State Department than the Pentagon.
There is real value in having Republicans in any cabinet. Bill Clinton gained valuable bipartisan cover by tapping moderate Republican senator Bill Cohen to be his Secretary of Defense. FDR selected Republicans to run both the Department of State Navy and the Department of War when he needed support for the Lend-Lease Program prior to our entry into World War Two. No one questions the wisdom of that decision.
The Department of State is traditionally the most important and prestigious department of government, although that has not been true in the Bush administration which elevated the Pentagon and the Office of the Vice-President. State is also the most traditionally reviled Department by movement conservatives that distrust the United Nations and resent foreign aid. Its day-to-day operations are usually overseen by the Undersecretary of State, with the Secretary taking on the big picture, media, and high profile meetings aspects of the job. Those that are concerned that Chuck Hagel is too conservative to serve in an Obama cabinet shouldn’t automatically jump to the conclusion that he will cause problems in the State Department. A good undersecretary will make sure that won’t happen.
If you look at the makeup of the Senate Foreign Relations committee, you’ll notice that the higher ranking Republicans fit into the mold of what passes for a moderate Republican these days. Richard Lugar of Indiana is the Ranking Member, and he is followed in seniority by Hagel, Norm Coleman of Minnesota, Bob Corker of Tennessee, George Voinovich of Ohio, and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. Coleman faces a tough reelection bid, but this nucleus of pro-State Department Republicans could form a vitally important bridge to a bipartisan foreign policy that places new efforts on reinvigorating diplomatic relations and solutions to our global problems. Picking one of them to head the State Department would facilitate this process and assure there is a lot of trust in the working relationship between the administration and the Senate.
Jack Reed would be an excellent selection for vice-president. But he’d also be an excellent pick for Secretary of Defense. While the Democratic leadership of the Armed Services committee includes anti-war senators Carl Levin, Teddy Kennedy, and Robert Byrd, the rest of the committee is tilted heavily to conservative Democrats.
Sen. Jack Reed (DEM-RI)
Sen. Daniel Akaka (DEM-HI)
Sen. Bill Nelson (DEM-FL)
Sen. Ben Nelson (DEM-NE)
Sen. Evan Bayh (DEM-IN)
Sen. Hillary Clinton (DEM-NY)
Sen. Mark Pryor (DEM-AR)
Sen. James Webb (DEM-VA)
Sen. Claire McCaskill (DEM-MO)
Sen. Joseph Lieberman (IND-CT)
Of that group, only Akaka and Reed were in the Senate and voted against the Authorization to Use Military Force in Iraq. Jim Webb penned an editorial in the Washington Post in August 2002 advising against invading Iraq. As for the Republicans on the committee, well, just take a look.
Sen.
John McCain (REP-AZ) (Ranking Member)
Sen. John Warner (REP-VA)
Sen. James Inhofe (REP-OK)
Sen. Jeff Sessions (REP-AL)
Sen. Susan Collins (REP-ME)
Sen. Saxby Chambliss (REP-GA)
Sen. Lindsey Graham (REP-SC)
Sen. Elizabeth Dole (REP-NC)
Sen. John Cornyn (REP-TX)
Sen. John Thune (REP-SD)
Sen. Mel Martinez (REP-FL)
Sen. Roger Wicker (REP-MS)
John Warner is retiring. Susan Collins and Mel Martinez show occasional signs of moderation. The rest of this crew is unlikely to be helpful in forging a bipartisan consensus for a new foreign policy. Yet, despite a Progressive Punch score that marks him as the sixth most progressive member of the Senate, Senator Reed is well-respected by his Republican colleagues. For one thing, he’s a veteran:
After graduating from West Point and receiving an active duty commission in the United States Army, Reed attended the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University where he received a Masters of Public Policy. Reed, an Army Ranger and a paratrooper, served in the 82nd Airborne Division as an Infantry Platoon Leader, a Company Commander, and a Battalion Staff Officer. He returned to West Point in 1978 as an Associate Professor in the Department of Social Sciences.
Reed resigned from the Army as a Captain in 1979 and enrolled at Harvard Law School.
Here are the positions he holds on Armed Services (with his ranking on each committee):
Senate Committee on Armed Services – 5
Subcommittee on Seapower – 3
Subcommittee on Strategic Forces – 3
Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities – Chair
He’s clearly well-versed with how the Pentagon works and is therefore very well qualified to be Secretary. He’s certainly better qualified than Chuck Hagel. Reed is a strong progressive (especially by Senate standards) but he has good working relations with some of the troglodytes on the Republican side of the aisle. A team of Reed at Defense and Hagel at State could be a potent and effective one, and progressives should not automatically sneeze at it just because Chuck Hagel is an economic and social conservative. On foreign policy he’s reasonable, and that is what the State Department is for. By making it clear that he is looking to put Hagel and Reed in these positions, Obama would free himself up to pick someone like Kathleen Sebelius as vice-president. I’d feel very comfortable with that team, especially if I felt good about the selection of Undersecretary of State.