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What kind of shift does Obama's National Security Team represent for US foreign policy?

Upon naming his National Security Team, pundits hail the selections of President-elect Obama, as a signal that his administation aims to make diplomacy a priority.

Posted by brownlu • Read more • Permalink

14 Quotes



US foreign policy becomes more moderate

Larry Sabato
Director, UVA Center for Politics

“Frankly, I never believed he was a superliberal. He's got to do what he thinks is right. Everyone needs to keep in mind that he's inheriting a bloody disaster.”


Military force will drive foreign policy

Chris Bowers
Blogger

“I know everyone is obsessed with the ‘team of rivals’ idea right now, but I feel incredibly frustrated. It seems to me as though there is a team of rivals, except for the left, which is left off the team entirely.”


James Taranto

“Obama's nominee for secretary of state is Hillary Clinton, a U.S. senator who, like McCain, voted in favor of using military force to liberate Iraq. Come to think of it, the same description fits Vice President-elect Joe Biden, who had already been nominated by the time Obama spoke at the convention”


Jennifer Rubin
Contributor, Commentary Magazine

“The notion...to replace the need for a robust military or become the mechanism for combating violent aggression...is misguided in the extreme. Shifting from “hard” to “soft” power is the sort of thing that the New York Times thinks is a swell idea, but which bears no relation to the threats we face.”


Diplomacy will drive foreign policy

Wall Street Journal
Editorial Board

“These are the Administration posts most critical to the successful conduct of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and to possible entanglements with Iran, North Korea and who knows who else. With these personnel picks, Mr. Obama reveals a bias for competence, experience and continuity.”


New York Times
Editorial Board

“Mr. Obama, who has limited foreign-policy experience, showed that he wants advisers with real authority who will not be afraid to disagree with him — two traits disastrously lacking in President Bush’s team. ”


Matthew Yglesias
Blogger, Think Progress

“We do spend way too much on the military, and we do severely under-resource other elements of our foreign policy strategy. If Clinton and Gates and Jones are all on board for a big push to turn this around...then that strikes me as a very good reason [for change].”


James Joyner
Blogger, Outside the Beltway

“I've been arguing since the 1993 Somalia mess that we need to shift resources from traditional combat power to softer power capabilities...While I generally oppose those missions, we've had nearly two decades of proof of a bipartisan inability to resist entering into them.”


Taylor Marsh
Political Analyst / Blogger

“[The fact] that they're all on board with Obama's goal of "rebalancing" our national security priorities should be the crowning bit of good news that brings music to everyone's ears. ”


Hilary 'Hilzoy' Bok
Prof. of Bioethics, Johns Hopkins / Former Blogger

“We have needed for a long time to have more tools at our disposal for addressing problems abroad. If Obama plans to build up alternatives to military force, that's really, really good news. ”


General Comments

Barack Obama
President of the United States

“...Understand, I will be setting policy as president. I will be responsible for the vision that this team carries out, and I expect them to implement that vision once decisions are made. ”


Peter Baker
Reporter, NY Times / Author

“The impression left by the event at a downtown Chicago hotel ballroom was of a political leader converting to governance from electioneering.”


Publius

“There are at least two ways of viewing the Clinton/Gates/Jones selections...The first...is that nothing much will change...But a second...interpretation is that Obama is planning big change, and has decided these individuals will be the most politically effective advocates of reform. ”


James Taranto

“f he can pull this off, and help that decent Iraq take root, Obama and the Democrats could not only end the Iraq war but salvage something positive from it. Nothing would do more to enhance the Democratic Party's national security credentials than that.”


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