The Sept. 26 presidentialdebate was intended to focus on the candidates’ views on nationalsecurity and foreign policy. But those topics were pushed into thebackground after President Bush proposed a $700 billion Wall Streetbailout to prevent a potential economic meltdown. So while debatewatchers got a glimpse of how Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. John McCainwould handle foreign policy, they didn’t get a full debate.
But two of Obama’s foreign policy advisersretired Adm. John Nathman and national security expert Sarah Sewallvisited Wisconsin before the debate to discuss how the Democrat would lead the United States in war and in peace.
Beforeretiring, Adm. Nathman was the commander of the U.S. Fleet ForcesCommand, a distinguished end to a 37-year career in the Navy. Sewallserved in the Department of Defense during the Clinton administration,but is now focused on counterinsurgency and terrorism while serving asthe director of the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy at HarvardUniversity. Nathman and Sewall spoke to the Shepherd about what we can expect from a potential Obama presidency.
On Obama’s Worldview:
“Iknow how rare it is to find a political leader who starts frompositions of principle as opposed to politics,” Sewall said. “One ofthe joys of working on behalf of Barack Obama is that he has aworldview that really is consistent across the different spheres ofpolicy. For example, his views about the importance of human dignity athome are mirrored by his views about the importance of human dignity asa part of our foreign policy. His views about how to strengthen America, not simply by relying on military power but on economic opportunities, are consistent with his message internationally.
“Butthe principles that guide him as a leader are ones that are consistentand connected, so that [he has] the chance to do policy not a la carteby interest group, not by virtue of what you’ve inherited from yourpolitical legacy and your big donors. His worldview is driven by whathe believes is the right way to secure America and the way to shape the world.”
On Judgment vs. Experience:
“Wekeep talking about experience,” Nathman said. “But if you really wantto talk about the first echelons of leadership, [what’s important is]judgment and integrity. And the judgment that I see in Sen. Obama isthe fact that he can recognize good advice as well as reject badadvice.”
On the Differences Between Obama and Bush and McCain:
“Ido think that a McCain presidency would be much like the Bushpresidency and would be guided by over-reliance on military force,presumption toward unilateral action and an effort to be pre-emptive ina very destabilizing way without regard to the second- and third-orderconsequences,” Sewall said. “Barack Obama’s view about how to secure Americaand operate in the world is fundamentally at odds with those things. Hewants to harness all of the tools of American power. He wants toharness other nations’ [cooperation] where we have common interests. Hewants to find ways to devolve responsibility to regions so the United States would not be doing everything. Andhe wants to find ways of strengthening the sources of American power,from our ideals to energy independence, that would give us a much morediversified portfolio, if you will, as a leader in the world. And mostof all he wants to restore American leadership with a differentsensibility toward others.”
On Obama’s Foresight:
“One of the things I find very interesting is that this administration rushed into Iraq, it ignored the war in Afghanistan and it’s said that we won’t deal with folks like Iran,” Nathman said. “But Sen. Obama says that the real war on terror is in Afghanistan. That’s how you’re going to secure America,because you’re going to go after the Taliban that were behind the safehaven for a re-emergence of Al Qaeda. That’s very clear.
“Andisn’t it very odd, now, that this administration which made thosereally rush-to-judgment decisions and really didn’t want to listen to acriticism of the path that they’re on, didn’t want to listen to othervoices about being careful about going into Iraq and paying attention to Afghanistanand dealing somewhat diplomatically with Iranthis administration isnow starting to deal with Iran diplomatically, particularly on thenuclear issue, and they’re starting to recommend timelines on awithdrawal from Iraq.This is what Sen. Obama has been saying for more than a year. … “It’sodd how it’s kind of flipped on itself. And it means that Sen. McCain,frankly, doesn’t get it. He’s missing the point. He’s back into overtactivity, striking out, fight, fight, fight.”
On Obama’s Decision-Making Process:
“Ina conversation with Sen. Obama he always wants to know, ‘How does thisissue connect to that issue? What are the second- and third-orderconsequences if we do this?’” Sewall said. “He thinks holistically.”
On Obama’s Investment in America’s Security:
“We need to start investing in America and Americans,” Nathman said. “As an example, while we’ve been investing $10 billion a month rebuilding Iraq,Sen. Obama has made the point that they’re enjoying this wonderfulwindfall of $80 billion simply because of what happened to the price ofoil$80 billion that the Iraqis are not spending because they’re notpolitically organized enough to do it. So there has to be agovernmental change.
“That $10 billion that we have been spending in Iraq isn’t an investment in America. The current administration has actually under-invested in the United States Air Force and the United StatesNavy, because in the future those two services will have larger andlarger roles in deterrence and dissuasion and influence on new,emboldened states. Like a Venezuela. Like a North Korea. Like a Russia. Like an Iran. So that’s got to be a part of your tools to use to shape the way people act and the way they think.
…“That’s why I think Sen. McCain gets us in trouble. It’s more of thesame. There isn’t a plan under Sen. McCain to end the war in Iraq. It’s called ‘we’re going to win.’ I’m not sure what we’re winning.”
On Restoring America’s Moral Authority:
“Obamais probably the only person on the planet who gets huge applause fromthe line ‘I taught the Constitution, I understand the Constitution, Iwill obey the Constitution,’” Sewall said. “He will make sure that ourcomportment at home and overseas is consistent with the values of theConstitution and the law, where the law is applicable. Things likemaking it clear that he would close down Guantanamo, guarantee basicrights and habeas corpus for detainees, and making it clear that we’renot going to torture peoplefull stop, no excuses, no crossed fingers,no signing statements. Those are very straightforward kinds ofactivities that we would expect to see from Sen. Obama right off thebat.” What’s your take? Write: editor@shepex.com or comment on this story online at www.expressmilwaukee.com.
