The Politics of Interrogation

With the announcement of the formation of an interagency interrogation unit and the appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate, we are seeing more of the Obama administration's misguided policies regarding the War on Terror.
 
These announcements are very disturbing. The appointment of such a prosecutor to investigate past interrogators could go in unknown directions. Even though it's intended to solely look into these people and their activities, it could spiral out of control and go after Justice Department attorneys like John Yoo among others. The real White Whale for the Democrats though is former Vice President Dick Cheney. Since they never could impeach President Bush and Dick Cheney, they will stop at nothing to go after them after they've left power.
 
The new interrogation unit also is a problem in the making. Considering it can only abide by the Army Field Manual, it cannot use many of the techniques that were vital in breaking high-ranking al-Qaeda operatives. Besides waterboarding, temperature modifications are not allowed and stress positions. This will demoralize the CIA to no end and their interrogators in particular. Also we must keep in mind how will this affect our influence and relationships with allies, especially allies in the region who may not want their participation made public. This could result in the drying up of intelligence,  and in the long run affect how we are able to conduct operations in the Middle East and other places.

President Obama and the Future of Afghanistan

Afghanistan is at an important point in its history right now. It has just had an election in which both candidates, incumbent Hamid Karzai and challenger and former foreign minister Dr. Abdullah Abdullah have declared victory. There is said to be a runoff election. This, though important, is not only part of what will determine their future.
 
The other part is President Obama's choice in how to proceed in the war there. He has increased troops, and may do so again if General McChrystal asks for it, but it is not a sure thing. His problem though is that the war is starting to take its toll on the left wing of the Democratic Party. They are starting to get tired of the start of the trickling death toll that they hear on the news. Obama's problem is he is in fact a creature of this faction. He most likely shares many of their views, and they did bring him to power. Some of the more liberal in Congress want a timetable of sorts, but they do not realize this is impossible. The war in Afghanistan is a war that is primarily a counterinsurgency (COIN) campaign. These historically take longer. If President Obama takes the easy way out and succumbs to pressure he will look as if he was disingenuous when he committed, in his campaign, to fight the war in Afghanistan more aggressively. It will take courage on President Obama's part to continue and in tun support the allies we have there. It will be a long, hard slog, but what must be realized is that the alternative to leaving would result in disaster.

Give Credit Where Credit is Due

As a fair-minded person I would like to take some time out to commend Bill Clinton for ensuring the release of Euna Lee and Laura Ling from North Korea. Even though we do not know the details of the release, former president Clinton should be congratulated for saving these women from years of hard labor. Granted, Kim Jong Il did get propaganda out of this, having his picture taken with him, but we must look at the human rights achievement here for now and analyze the details later.

Quick to React, But Only Sometimes

President Obama's quick reaction the "racial controversy" in Cambridge involving Professor Henry Gates and Sgt. James Crowley, shows much about him.
 
  It shows he is quick to react when it is an issue that appears easy to him, and he might know about through personal experience. The fact of the matter though is he said I don't know all the facts, but continued to say the police acted stupidly. He should have said no comment or it was a local matter and leave it at that.
 
Now you might wonder how does this relate to this blog's purpose, to analyze foreign policy. Unfortunately, it is all too connected. Even though he reacted to this question in seconds, he waited for over a week to make any comment supporting the Iranian protesters. He has shown timidity to face down thuggish dictators, but not to call police stupid. Does that make sense to you? It seems it should be the reverse. Another question we must ask ourselves is, what does this portend for the future? President Obama needs to come out quicker on these international issues, and stand up for the plight of the oppressed wherever they may show themselves.