10/28/08

The Bush administration had no official comment concerning a clandestine attack by U.S. Special Operations forces into Syria. Senator Obama also refused to comment publicly on such a sensitive military operation. Yet the McCain campaign responded with a press release that argued that this operation would not have happened in an Obama administration and attacked Obama for advocating diplomatic engagement with Syria. McCain’s argument is not just reckless but incoherent. First, Senator Obama has been the candidate that has expressed a willingness to engage in cross-border attacks on high-value targets into Pakistan, while Sen. McCain has dismissed this approach as “naïve.” McCain’s statement on Syria completely contradicts his approach to Pakistan. Second, McCain was for talks with Syria before he was against them. In 2003, McCain supported Colin Powell’s trip to Damascus even while acknowledging that the Syrians were a “state-sponsor of terrorism” and were “harboring terrorists.” Furthermore, the Israeli government is currently engaged in talks with Syria and European leaders have met with Syria’s leadership encouraging them to make peace with Israel and break with Iran. Once again, Sen. McCain’s response to an international incident has been erratic, reckless, and incoherent.

John McCain once again responded recklessly to an international crisis. Following a U.S. raid inside Syria, the Bush administration refused to comment due to the highly sensitive nature of the operation. The Obama campaign followed suit, offering no comment about the operation. However, John McCain used this opportunity to attempt to score political points by issuing an email statement attacking Barack Obama: “Syria is a state sponsor of terror and a sanctuary for terrorists that target U.S. troops in Iraq, yet Barack Obama has pledged to meet personally and unconditionally with Syria's leaders during his first year in office... John McCain has been demanding that Syria do more to crack down on terrorists moving from its territory into Iraq... If Barack Obama had his way, U.S. forces would not have been in a position to launch this strike. So does Barack Obama support this action -- an action that would not even have been possible if his policies had been implemented?” The prudent response, as given by Sen. Obama, is to not comment on a military option that the Bush administration and the United States military have refused to publicly acknowledge. [Michael Goldfarb, McCain-Palin Spokesman. Washington Post, 10/28/08]

John McCain’s foreign policy is incoherent and contradictory – McCain supports cross-border strikes into Syria, yet opposes them against Al Qaeda in Pakistan. The McCain campaign attacked in a press release: “If Barack Obama had his way, U.S. forces would not have been in a position to launch this strike.” Yet it is Obama who has expressed a willingness to conduct cross-border attacks against high-valued terrorist targets, while McCain has not. McCain’s statement contradicted his stated refusal to conduct similar operations in Pakistan against al-Qaeda’s leadership. Last year, when Barack Obama signaled his willingness to strike at senior al-Qaeda members hiding in Pakistan, in cases where the Pakistani government was incapable or unwilling to act, McCain described Obama’s position as “naïve.” Later this summer, McCain elaborated on this stance. Responding to a question from Larry King about whether he would strike at Osama bin Laden in Pakistan, McCain said “I'm not going to go there. And here's why, because Pakistan is a sovereign nation." [McCain Campaign Statement, 10/27/08. Barack Obama, 8/01/07. John McCain, 2/20/08. John McCain, 7/29/08]

McCain was for talking to Syria before he was against it. In its email statement on Syria, the McCain campaign, seemingly unaware of McCain’s past statements, lashed out at Obama for agreeing to meet with Syrian leaders. However, John McCain himself supported Colin Powell’s visit to Syria in 2003. This was at a time that he described Syria as “sponsoring and harboring terrorists” and “occupying Lebanon.” McCain told NBC’s Matt Lauer that “I think it's very appropriate that Colin Powell is going to Syria. I think we should put diplomatic and other pressures on them... I am glad Colin Powell is going there.” A week later he told Chris Matthews that “Colin Powell is going to look Bashar aside in the eye and say, look, you know. You better clean up your act here. It’s a new day in the Middle East. And I think it's entirely appropriate to do that.” Furthermore, the Washington Post reports that “Syria has lately embarked on policies that France and other Western governments have viewed favorably, including indirect peace talks with Israel.” The BBC reported last May that “Israel and Syria have said they are holding indirect talks to reach a comprehensive peace agreement. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's office said both sides were talking ‘in good faith and openly.’ The Syrian foreign ministry also confirmed the Turkish-mediated talks, the first since 2000.” [NBC Today, 4/18/03. MSNBC Hardball, 4/23/03. Huffington Post, 5/16/08. Washington Post, 10/28/08. BBC, 5/21/08]

Quick Hits

Markets rose across Asia and Europe, helping to ease yesterday’s losses.

The United States is considering talks with elements of the Taliban. General David Petraeus, who advocated a similar strategy in Iraq, supports the idea and assumes command of strategy in Afghanistan and Pakistan later this week.

The situation in the DR Congo is deteriorating rapidly. Fighting continues near the regional capital of Goma as Tutsi rebel forces gain ground on government troops, with the UN supporting the government. Yesterday, hundreds of protestors threw stones at the UN compound in Goma, angry that they were not being adequately protected from the rebels. The Spanish general leading the UN peacekeeping force abruptly resigned. Tens of thousands of people fled the fighting.

Iraq’s cabinet is sending proposed amendments to U.S. negotiators. The U.S. previously said the existing draft was final.

The making of the U.S.-Iraq security agreement revels the behind-the-scenes struggle between the U.S. and Iran.

Iran is opening a new naval facility just east of the Strait of Hormuz, the key shipping route for 20% of the world’s oil.

Mohamad ElBaradei, head of the IAEA, said that the rate of nuclear thefts in the past year was “disturbingly high,” but that the total amount of material stolen was not large enough to build a single nuclear device.

A military judge ruled that defense lawyers may have access to the secretive “Camp 7” facility at Guantanamo Bay, where some of the most important al Qaeda suspects are held.

The northern Iraqi city of Mosul emerges as the central front in the struggle between the Iraqi government and the Kurdish minority. The rejection of a new draft of the Iraqi oil law and the creation of semi-tribal councils in Kirkuk add to the tension.

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili dismissed his prime minister and will propose a new cabinet soon.

The $16.5 billion IMF loan to the Ukraine is endangered by the feud between President Viktor Yushchenko and Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko.