7/6/10

Conservative politicization is revealing itself once again on the most important national security issues of the day.  From nuclear proliferation to Afghanistan to the Middle East, two troubling and parallel trends regarding conservatives and their positions on national security and foreign policy have taken root: they are willing to politicize national security at any cost and they lack credibility to speak substantively on national security.  Just today, Mitt Romney, in defiance of every bipartisan expert brought to testify before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, wrote that the New START Treaty is a mistake and should not be ratified.  Similarly, Sarah Palin expressed baseless opinions on the Middle East on her Facebook page that are not rooted in reality.  And during the Fourth of July weekend, the leader of the Republican Party, RNC Chairman Michael Steele, demonstrated clear ignorance on Afghanistan as he incompetently veered from GOP consensus on Afghanistan for political gain.  His comments threw the conservative movement into confusion, drawing the ire of neoconservatives who have supported endless war in Afghanistan, and who succeeded in forcing a retraction from Steele.  Time and again, conservatives, as exemplified by these leaders of the conservative movement, have demonstrated that they care more about the politics behind national security issues than the substantive issue of keeping Americans safe and prosperous. 

Romney defies unanimous bipartisan expert support for New START, simply because the Obama administration supports it.  In today's Washington Post, Mitt Romney demonstrates his weak understanding of national security issues by writing that "the president's New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New-START) with Russia could be his worst foreign policy mistake yet. The treaty as submitted to the Senate should not be ratified."  Romney's stance is in opposition to every witness brought to testify before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on the treaty.  Bipartisan national security who have expressed support for the treaty include: George Schultz, Secretary of State for the Reagan Administration; Henry Kissinger, National Security Advisor and Secretary of State for the Nixon and Ford Administrations; Ambassador Richard Burt, the original Chief START negotiator during the George H.W. Bush Administration; Secretary of Defense Robert Gates; Admiral Michael Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; General James Cartwright, Vice-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; General Chilton, Commander of U.S. Strategic Command; James Baker, Secretary of State during the George H.W. Bush Administration; James Schlesinger Secretary of Defense for Presidents Nixon and Ford; and William Perry, Defense Secretary for President Clinton.

Romney also gets his facts incorrect. He claims that Obama "acceded to Russia's No. 1 foreign policy objective, the abandonment of our Europe-based missile defense program, and obtained nothing whatsoever in return."  However, Lt. Gen. Patrick O'Reilly, director of the U.S. Missile Defense Agency, told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that "There are no limitations in the treaty on our plans for missile defense." In fact, he said that the United States would deploy missile defense systems to Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean over the next two years.  This is just one of the many flaws in Romney's argument that displays a highly politicized view of national security.  [Mitt Romney, 7/6/10. NSN, 6/4/10. NSN, 4/23/10. Lt. Gen. Patrick O'Reilly, Global Security Network, 06/17/10]

RNC Chairman Michael Steele's remarks on Afghanistan send conservatives into disarray.  On Friday, RNC Chairman Michael Steele drew intense fire from neoconservatives when he questioned the U.S. war in Afghanistan and called the conflict, "a war of Obama's choosing," despite the fact that it began during the Bush Administration. Steele's neoconservative colleagues erupted almost immediately. His comments showed why he should be ignored when it comes to serious policy issues, yet he still remains a leading voice.  The Weekly Standard's Bill Kristol used strong language to condemn Steele's remarks: "There are, of course, those who think we should pull out of Afghanistan, and they're certainly entitled to make their case. But one of them shouldn't be the chairman of the Republican party."  In response to attacks from the extreme right, Steele issued a statement that completely reversed his earlier remarks and said that the stakes were too high "to accept anything but success in Afghanistan."  Still, it was not enough to mollify the neocons. Appearing from Kabul, Senator John McCain (R-AZ) called Steele's comments "wildly inaccurate," and Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) corrected Steele, saying "This is not President Obama's war; this is America's war."  Though Steele did find support from Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX), who said "Michael Steele has it right and Republicans should stick by him," it was ultimately the neoconservatives who owned the narrative. Former Bush administration official Dan Senor summed it up for Jake Tapper, saying "I don't think the Republican Party can seriously engage in foreign policy with credibility if its chairman is engaging in this kind of rhetoric." [Michael Steele, via Huffington Post, 7/2/10. Bill Kristol, 7/2/10. Senator John McCain (R-AZ), 7/4/10. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC), 7/4/10. Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX), via Fox News, 7/5/10. Dan Senor, 7/4/10]

Sarah Palin ignores national security priorities, reality in order to wage partisan attacks. Last week, Sarah Palin showed that when it comes to foreign policy and national security, her views are completely out of touch with reality. In order to advance her own political agenda, Palin issued a litany of baseless attacks on the Obama administration. She accused the administration of hypocrisy when it comes to defense spending, writing "[t]his administration may be willing to cut defense spending, but it's increasing it everywhere else." Not only is this a complete fabrication, since the administration has exempted Defense from a government-wide freeze on discretionary spending, but it ignores the bipartisan consensus in support for reforming defense spending, led by Secretary Gates, who has said that the Department cannot ask for more and more resources until it has done "everything possible, to make every dollar count."

Palin also reduced the urgent imperative of moving forward on Middle East peace to a "minor zoning issue in Jerusalem." Yet, as Congressman Gary Ackerman (D-NY), Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committees' Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia and a longtime supporter of American-Israeli relations said last year, a settlement freeze would "set the stage" for Middle East peace negotiations "to begin in earnest." More importantly, prominent national security figures have stated emphatically that the focus must be on reaching a peace agreement, for the sake of U.S. interests. In his previous role as CENTCOM Commander, General David Petraeus testified that "The enduring hostilities between Israel and some of its neighbors present distinct challenges to our ability to advance our interests in the AOR [CENTCOM Area of Responsibility]." [Sarah Palin, 6/30/10. Secretary of Defense Gates, NSN, 6/17/10. Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-NY), 6/4/09.  General David Petraeus, 3/16/10]

What We're Reading

Thailand extended a state of emergency that was imposed in about a third of the country during recent bloody political protests, saying anti-government elements continued to pose a threat.

Today's meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Obama comes a day after Israel confirmed it would allow more consumer goods to enter the Gaza Strip.

Vice President Joe Biden left Iraq after a three-day trip where he urged Iraqi officials to speed up the pace of the formation of the Iraqi government.

Protests against a recent increase in fuel prices shut down markets, schools, airports and businesses across India, and thousands of people were arrested as violence flared in some cities.

East African leaders have renewed their calls for replacing the beleaguered African Union peacekeeping mission in Somalia with UN troops.

Mexican voters turned out in high numbers to choose new governors, mayors and state representatives, despite threats and intimidation by drug cartels.

The French parliament is due to begin a debate on plans to ban the wearing of full Islamic veils in public.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton rebuked Russia for failing to live up to the cease-fire agreement it signed nearly two years ago to end the fighting in Georgia.

Turkey's foreign minister said his country would sever diplomatic relations with Israel unless it either apologizes for its deadly raid on a Turkish aid ship or accepts an international inquiry into the incident.

Commentary of the Day

Brian Katulis and Joel Rubin lay out what President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu should discuss at their meeting today.

Carl Schramm and Robert Litan write that Afghan economic growth is key to success in Afghanistan.

Jeff Wasserstrom says fears about China are overblown.