Foreign Policy

In a related story, Stephen Hawking has delayed publication of his next book until it can be proofread by Amy Winehouse.

McCain told NPR, in an interview this morning, that he has often sought foreign policy advice from his ticket mate: (via Think Progress)

NPR: Given what you've said Senator, is there an occasion where you could imagine turning to Governor Palin for advice in a foreign policy crisis.

MCCAIN: I've turned to her advice many times in the past, I can't imagine turning to Senator Obama or Senator Biden because they've been wrong. They were wrong about Iraq, wrong about Russia –

What did he ask her, "Can you get me a good deal on some Beluga? Should I let Meghan go to Cabo for Spring Break?"

If this doesn't scare you, it should. Imagine you're about to have brain surgery, and as you're going under, the surgeon turns to the anesthesiologist and says, "OK, what's the gray stuff, again?"

The truth is probably the slightly-less-scary idea that McCain is blowing proverbial smoke about being Palin's foreign policy protégé, in an effort to burnish her lone "credential," her physical proximity to Russia.

Tommy Christopher co-hosts "Unusable Signal" , on BlogTalkRadio Tues & Thur at 9pm, and Wed, Fri, & Sat at 11pm. Click here for the Unusable Signal homepage.

I have to give Katie Couric credit for keeping a straight face throughout her interview with Sarah Palin. That's really all I have to say about this clip, which speaks for itself.


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"John McCain is more than wrong – he is dangerously wrong" for America and the national security of this country.

That was the premise of what was being called a major national security speech by Sen. Joe Biden (remember him?), Barack Obama's running mate, in Ohio today.

"We cannot afford a commander-in-chief who is divorced from reality and from America's most basic interests," Biden added, especially when "our country is less secure and more isolated than it has been at any time in recent history" and that we're sitting in a "very deep hole around the world" in terms of our relations with other countries - dug, of course, by none other than the Bush administration.

"A central question for this election is which candidate will keep digging that hole," the Delaware Democrat added.

Among other things, Biden said, McCain's judgment has been bad on urging the U.S. consider attacking countries Iraq, Iran and Syria after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. It was also lousy when he said we would "muddle through" the mess in Afghanistan, and declared it a "remarkable success."

During President Bush's farewell speech to the United Nations Tuesday, he called on the UN to reform. Despite running what many critics refer to as the most secretive administration in American history, Bush called on the UN to "open the door to a new age of transparency, accountability, and seriousness of purpose."

The UN didn't exactly extend Bush a rousing ovation. According to the Associated Press, the President received "less than 10 seconds of polite applause at the end of [the] speech".

Bush also received a thumbs-down gesture from Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad during the speech. Ahmadinejad reportedly made quite a show of not paying attention at times while Bush spoke. The Iranian President was seen waving to people during the address. Ahmadinejad spoke a couple hours later, and once again predicted the demise of "the American empire".

Ahmadinejad's shenanigans were nothing new for world leaders attending Bush speeches at the UN. In September 2006, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez addressed the UN the day after Bush, saying, "The devil came here yesterday and it smells of sulfur still today."

Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni has emerged victorious in the Kadima Party's primary election - paving the way for her to become the country's next prime minister. Livni would become the first female leader of Israel in 34 years, thereby joining the ranks of female world leaders inclusive of 3 queens, 8 presidents and 8 other prime ministers.

A former lawyer, army captain and agent in the Mossad spy agency, Livni favors diplomacy and a Palestinian peace process - but said last week that she has "no problem pulling the trigger when necessary."

Spoken like a true hockey mom - a pit-bull in lipstick! Should they both assume high offices, Tzipi Livni and Sarah Palin would serve as a striking pair in diplomatic talks. Perhaps they could meet in the Alaskan wilderness, hunting moose and showing the good ol' boys how it's done!

If this is a preview of the Age of Women in Politics - bring on the future!

Depending where you reside on the political spectrum, the nomination of Sarah Palin for Vice President of the United States is either a stroke of genius, or a cynical, if not reckless, political ploy. Both sides in this national debate agree that Palin was selected to help woo disaffected supporters of Hillary Clinton. Both sides also agree that Palin was selected to appeal to the far right of the Republican party. Adding those two sentences together, however, exposes a fundamental disconnect: Hillary Clinton voters loathe the far right of the Republican party.

So, in shoring up a base that deeply mistrusts him, John McCain figures that the gender card (as it was played by Walter Mondale back in '84) will attract just enough voters to put him over the top. But the strategy for Palin to invoke Hillary Clinton's name as often as possible--even though the two women share next to nothing in political values--may have already hit a roadblock. Consider the scene at a rally in Washington, Pennsylvania over the weekend:

John McCain's new vice presidential nominee, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, acknowledged the New York senator on Saturday when reflecting on her new found role as a national candidate.

The reaction from a large chunk of the audience: boos.

You see, the crowd at McCain/Palin events isn't exactly Hillary's fan base. They're more apt to refer to Hillary as "the bitch," and they don't want the "babe" (as Rush Limbaugh has called Palin) to try to tell them otherwise.

The White House announced yesterday that Vice-President Dick Cheney will travel to Georgia next week as part of a trip to three former Soviet republics to express the Bush Administration's support for the Georgian government. Fighting in Georgia between Russian and Georgian troops has ceased, but the situation remains very tense. Russia remains in control of the Black Sea port of Poti, and has stated that it will begin searching cargo entering the port, in violation of the cease fire agreement brokered by European leaders in which Russia agreed not to interfere with the free flow of goods into the country. The U.S. Navy is headed to Georgia to deliver relief supplies and has said that it will use the port, possibly bringing U.S. and Russian Naval forces into direct conflict.

The White House said that the Vice-President's trip is an opportunity for the U.S to demonstrate its commitment to rebuild Georgia in the wake of the Russian invasion.

"The trip gives us an opportunity to move forward both here in the U.S. government, and also with our counterparts in Europe who want to support Georgia's economic and military reconstruction. Developments lately in Georgia have increased the importance of this visit."

Meanwhile, Russia seems determined to drag out the conflict over the the breakaway Georgian regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia for as long as possible. The Russian Parliament voted unanimously to recognize the two regions as independent states, comparing the situation there directly to Kosovo, the breakaway region of Serbia recently recognized as independent by the U.S. and European nations. The Kremlin has yet to make the recognition official and will test the parliament's action diplomatically over the next couple of weeks.

The conflict is settling into a standoff between Russia and the West very reminiscent of the Cold War. For its part, the White House seems to acknowledge that new reality. "Russia's reputation has suffered since it took these disproportionate military steps in Georgia," White House spokesman Tony Fratto said, "[the U.S. is] reviewing our entire relationship with Russia."

You didn't really think he'd pick Kathleen Sebelius, did you? Obama trumpets "change," but with the choice of Joe Biden for VP the campaign is clearly stating that too much change too fast is no way to win an election. The 65-year-old Biden is the very definition of a Washington insider, a white-haired white guy who's been in Congress since 1972, when Obama was in grade school. (In fact Biden has served ten years longer than John McCain.)

Biden is well-liked and well-connected on Capitol Hill, with a reputation as a principled fighter. He's got a great sense of humor and is a solid off-the-cuff speaker. With two runs for president under his belt, he's a seasoned campaigner who knows how to relate to voters. Those are all good qualities for a vice presidential candidate. But there's one main reason Obama picked Biden: foreign policy experience. He is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a trusted voice on U.S. strategy overseas. He supports the United Nations and is a believer in diplomacy first. While he voted to authorize the Iraq invasion, Biden has since become an outspoken critic of the Bush Administration's handling of the war. It's that kind of resume that the Democrats believe they'll need to take on McCain in November.

Obama chose the tested Washington veteran Biden as a counter to his critics who say the young Illinois senator isn't experienced enough to be president. In many ways it was a conservative decision. With the Obamamania of the primary season fading and polls tight, it shows the campaign might not be as confident as it was a few months ago. It also shows they're serious about winning.

As in all good political theater there's a stinging irony here. Less than a year ago Biden was one of those critics calling Obama inexperienced. How long until the McCain campaign digs up some of those quotes?

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari announced that the two countries have reached a preliminary agreement on a time line for U.S. combat troop withdrawal from Iraq. According to the agreement, all U.S. combat forces will be out of Iraq by the end of 2011, a little less than three and a half years from now. The role of U.S. forces inside Iraq will change as well. The agreement calls for U.S. troops to be stationed outside of Iraqi cities by June of next year, in a backup role for Iraqi forces, who will have complete control of security in all of the country by then. The agreement only deals with combat forces, not basing rights. The U.S. and Iraq are still in negotiations over a Status of Forces Agreement, which will lay out the conditions for a continuing U.S. troop presence in Iraq, similar to those in Germany and South Korea.

Rice commented on the deal in a surprise visit to Baghdad yesterday, saying that setting dates in the agreement made sense. She also praised the success of the troop surge as a reason for the two countries' ability to include time goals in the deal.

"We have agreed that some goals, some aspirational timetables for how that might unfold are well worth having in such an agreement.

I have to say, if I could just make the point, the reason we are where we are going, talking about this kind of agreement, is that the surge worked, Iraqi forces have demonstrated that they are strong and getting stronger."

That point may be disputed by critics of the Administration's Iraq policy. The Bush Administration has never favored a strict time line for withdrawal, and some may point to this agreement as evidence that the Administration's insistence on an open ended American commitment to Iraq has failed. But there can be little doubt that had the Administration agreed to a time line in early 2007, as the Democrats in control of Congress were insisting on, the agreement announced today would not have been possible.

Jonathan S. Landay of McClatchy Newspapers reports that Pentagon officials doubt that any U.S. Navy vessels would join an aid operation to Georgia despite a promise Wednesday from President Bush that humanitarian aid to the country was on the way. Landay quotes a "senior administration official" as saying, "The president was writing checks to the Georgians without knowing what he had in the bank."

The promise came before the Bush Administration could get clearance from Turkey to enter the Black Sea. Turkey, clearly wary of angering Russia, has been "nonresponsive" to administration attempts to get clearance to pass through the narrow straits Turkey controls that connect the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. Furthermore, any hospital ships would take weeks to get to the region.

Meanwhile, Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili took Bush's pledge and ran with it like he was Baghdad Bob, claiming that U.S. warships would break a Russian naval blockade and liberate Georgia's ports.

Due to the gravity of the situation in Georgia, the President went ahead and postponed his vacation to Crawford by one day. He leaves for Crawford today and will meet with Condoleezza Rice at his ranch tomorrow.