Senator John McCain’s (R-Ariz.) presidential campaign held a conference call on the one-year anniversary of Senator Barack Obama’s (D-Ill.) declaration that he would hold diplomatic meetings with various dictators “without preconditions” once he becomes President. (more…)
The National Security Network held a conference call to discuss American troop presence in Iraq and Nouri al-Maliki’s new opinion on the situation. Colin Kahl, a professor at the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service, explained that back in November, 2007, the Bush Administration and Maliki signed a declaration of principles which outlined a long term partnership of the U.S. with Iraq. Around the same time, the governments also embarked on bilateral negotiations, hopefully to be completed by July 31st, in an effort to codify a relationship and replace the current UN mandate with a bilateral arrangement. (more…)
At the Democratic National Committee today, Congressmen Adam Smith (D-WA) and Chet Edwards (D-Texas) offered a rebuttal to the Republican press conference against presidential hopeful Barack Obama. Smith and Edwards said that like President Bush, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) has been inconsistent in his positions and wrong in his judgments on Iraq from the beginning which has harmed America’s security. (more…)
Sen. Richard Burr (R-Ariz.) chides Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) for making up his mind on Iraq before even traveling to the country. Burr was joined by other GOP Members to launch a new video that characterizes Obama has a politically expedient politician. (0:32)
In a press conference this afternoon Republican Senators and Congressmen launched an attack against Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) by launching a new seven minute video titled “The Obama Iraq Documentary: Whatever the Politics Demand.” The video asks the question: Where does Barack Obama stand on Iraq? In the video, Obama’s own words are used against him to paint the senator as a politically expedient politician who will say and do anything to get elected. (more…)
Congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.) speaks about the differences between Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) on hispanic issues. Diaz-Balart says that Obama does not support free trade in Columbia and would like to abolish the free trade deal that the United States has with Mexico and Canada. Diaz-Balart also calls Obama’s position on free trade “highly irresponsible.” (0:44)
Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain discussed education, government spending, and the economy at the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Conference in Cincinnati, Ohio. In his remarks, McCain said his opponent democratic candidate Sen. Barack Obama “an impressive fellow,” saying Obama has been able to inspire many Americans and that Obama has made historical strides for the United States.
McCain defended school voucher programs, asking where failing schools leave families and children in need of a good education. He said no bureaucracy should deny a child’s right to an education and that Americans are of dangerous schools with unqualified teachers. McCain also proposed aiding study outside of school by putting $500 million towards virtual schools and the expansion of online courses. He noted educational reform has been a goal of the NAACP, saying that despite the best efforts of teachers, blacks are among the most likely to drop out of high school. He criticized Obama’s opposition to educational programs in lower class neighborhoods and Obama’s decision to ignore public support for private school vouchers.
McCain said government spending has increased 60 percent in the last eight years, advocating reduced taxation as a method to ease Americans’ struggles with a hard economy. If elected, McCain told the conference he would double tax breaks for dependents and build 45 new nuclear plants as a method to develop alternative energy sources and to provide Americans 700,000 additional jobs. McCain closed by saying he needs counsel and goodwill from the NAACP to effectively help the United States.
Senior foreign affairs advisors for John McCain, Kori Schake and Randy Scheunemann, discuss the setbacks Barack Obama has when it comesto foreign policy, especially in Afghanistan. Following Obama’s speech about national security, Schuenemann said it is interesting that Obama gave this speech, especially since he has not been to Iraq in over 900 days and has never been to Afghanistan. Rep. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) sees problems with committee organization and action on issues in Afghanistan. (17:50)
Experts discussed the Afghanistan policies of Barack Obama and John McCain during a conference call. Following Obama’s recent foreign policy speech, the experts referred his record on the Afghanistan issue.
Rep. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) said that McCain was able to come up with a strategy in Iraq that worked. Randy Scheunemann, a senior foreign policy advisor for the McCain Campaign, questioned the timing of Obama’s foreign policy speech. Scheunemann noted that it is strange for Obama to discuss Middle East foreign policy when the senator has not visited Iraq in 900 days, has never been to Afghanistan, or met privately with Gen. David Petraeus.
Kori Schake, another senior foreign policy advisor for McCain, outlined McCain’s strategy in Afghanistan. McCain will work with allies to make sure their is unity of leadership, appoint an Afghanistani official to better organize U.S. policy, and increase the amounts of troops by three brigades, Schake said. Two brigades would be for combat and one would be for training, Scheunemann said. McCain will also increase non-military assistance, such as counter narcotics strategy and regional diplomatic issues.
Scheunemann said Obama contradicted himself when he said that 10,000 to 20,000 additional troops would make no significant difference back in 2007, but then, in January 2008, argued that he said more troops would be beneficial. Obama has a commitment to leave Iraq, but not to win, Scheunemann said. Obama, as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, chose to cut off funding for Afghanistan despite never holding a hearing about it.
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama gave a speech on U.S. foreign policy, national security and strategy in Iraq at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington D.C. Obama was introduced by Wilson Center director Lee Hamilton who started jovially referencing an incident where Obama had to show ID at a DC gym. (more…)
