http://www.telegraph.co.uk

No free ride for Europe, says top Barack Obama aide
By Toby Harnden in Washington
Last Updated: 5:58PM BST 19/07/2008
Europe will be challenged by a President Barack Obama to contribute more to global security and will no longer have the "easy out" of pandering to anti-Bush sentiment, according to a top adviser to the Democratic candidate. AP



Former Assistant Secretary of State Susan Rice listens to Barack Obama answer a question at a foreign policy forum in Des Moines, Iowa
In an interview with The Daily Telegraph on the eve of Mr Obama's week-long trip to Afghanistan, the Middle East and Europe, Susan Rice emphasised that the election of Mr Obama would mark a decision by Americans to "turn the page" on President George W Bush.

But the former Rhodes Scholar, who took her Master's degree and doctorate in international relations at New College, Oxford, made clear that an Obama administration would also challenge Europe to do more after a Democratic victory in November's election.

"It would signal a return to the more pragmatic and bi-partisan traditions of American foreign policy, which have been lost to ideology in the Bush years," she said. "He will not proceed through an ideological frame and seek to impose that frame on every challenge.

"There is some truth to the notion that some of the animus at the popular level towards the Bush administration may have made it easier for some of our European partners to avoid taking steps that we may want them to take and that perhaps they ought to take," she said.

"That has, in some respects, perhaps on some issues, given them an easy out. Barack Obama will lead from a position of strength and seek progress, and he will want to work with Europe in very strong partnership.

"It means we in the United States will have to do our part; but Europe will have to do its part too. There can be no free riders if this is going to be an effective partnership."

The Obama campaign has highlighted Afghanistan as a prime example, arguing that Europe should send more troops there and lift restrictions on how they can be used.

On Tuesday, Mr Obama argued for a major sift in American policy away from the "single-minded and open-ended focus on Iraq" towards a broader approach to the world and vowed to send more troops to Afghanistan.

"Among the issues we will want to focus on together are a strong and effective approach to Iran and to the larger non-proliferation challenge, a robust effort to tackle climate change, as well as Afghanistan and Pakistan, where the situation is deteriorating and where we in the US as well as Nato need to do more," said Miss Rice.

She added: "And so Obama will ask more of ourselves and ask more of our closest allies."

Mr Obama is committed to withdrawing American troops from Iraq at a rate of one to two brigades a month. "Obama will maintain a residual US presence, but not permanent bases, to carry out specific missions.

She described these as "protecting our embassy, civilians and humanitarian workers; conducting counter-terrorism operations against remaining al-Qaeda elements; and continuing to train Iraqi police and security forces, if the Iraqis are making progress towards political reconciliation".

One of Mr Obama's toughest tasks would be to rebuild American relations with the world, she conceded.

"What happened in the Bush years, particularly in the early Bush years, was a precipitous drop off in European attitudes towards the United States and towards President Bush in particular.

"The polls for a number of years indicated that the frustration or the disillusion was directed primarily at President Bush. But over time, the United States and Bush came to be conflated in international popular opinion, not entirely but increasingly ... it doesn't serve American interests, and it needs to be repaired."

Miss Rice, 43, who is married with two children, was an Assistant Secretary of State under President Bill Clinton after a meteoric rise to the higher reaches of American policymaking.

Along with Tony Lake, Mr Clinton's first National Security Adviser - the key figure at the right hand of the president who co-ordinates foreign policy - Miss Rice leads a team of some 300 foreign policy advisers.

A tough, plain-speaking adviser who nevertheless has a hearty laugh and a direct, informal manner, Miss Rice is widely seen as being in line to become Mr Obama's National Security Adviser - the same role that Condoleezza Rice, now US Secretary of State, was given by George W. Bush in 2001.

But Miss Rice shrugs off the inevitable comparisons with the "other Dr Rice" - who is no relation - and won't be drawn on what position she might assume in an Obama administration.

"I have no idea who will be President Obama's National Security Adviser," she said. "I wouldn't begin to presume that.

"I wouldn't take the analogy [with Condoleezza Rice] particularly far. I respect Secretary Rice. We have a few things in common - we're African American women working in the field of national security named Rice that both have great affection for and ties to Stanford University, but beyond that I think the parallels are few."

Mr Obama is due to arrive in London on Friday night before meeting Gordon Brown at Downing Street and David Cameron, the Conservative party leader, on Saturday as well as meeting American supporters.

The centrepiece of his trip to Europe will be a major speech in Berlin, where he will arrive after stops in Jordan, Israel and the West Bank. He will then meet President Nicolas Sarkozy in Paris before flying to London, where he will be for less than 24 hours.

But Miss Rice batted away the concerns of some British diplomats that the focus on Germany and the fact that Britain was not Mr Obama's first stop might signal a watering down of what Winston Churchill first described as the "special relationship" between Britain and the United States.

She still valued Churchill's term, she said. "As far back as any of us can remember, the US and Britain have cooperated hand in hand to meet some of the most significant and dangerous security challenges we face.

"Americans look to Britain as a special partner, a special ally of historical and cultural significance as well as very practical everyday significance."

just a thought from me, i have always said i can agree with obama domestic issues, taxes back to clintons schedule etc, im not scared of this man anylonger, and i have said i think once he is briefed . he will grow stronger, it seems he is headed that way, and he still has not been briefed by the pentagon on issues of national security that are classified, we still have a ways to go till the election, but as i said , im no longer worried, just my thoughts, i think his views is why jesse jackson is talking as he is, and if jesse is pissed at obama, i actually could see myself voting for obama, but much water will go under the bridge, before the elecition.take care

I hope you are right, Roscoe. But regardless of what Obama says, Israel will strike Iran before Jan 20 if Obama wins.

oh on that we agree totally, isreal does not play as i have said multiple times, there is still some issues i disagree on with obama, like where to drill for oil ,, a space missle shield, so my thought are not set in stone, im just surprised to see this mans views changing, and i hope will continue, and it tickes me to death that he has pissed jesse off, i think jesse knows his day as someone ppl listen to is coming to a slow end, all he really does now is extort money,, that too will end, as he becomes a man forgotten,

rosco 357 wrote:just a thought from me, i have always said i can agree with obama domestic issues, taxes back to clintons schedule etc, im not scared of this man anylonger, and i have said i think once he is briefed . he will grow stronger, it seems he is headed that way, and he still has not been briefed by the pentagon on issues of national security that are classified, we still have a ways to go till the election, but as i said , im no longer worried, just my thoughts, i think his views is why jesse jackson is talking as he is, and if jesse is pissed at obama, i actually could see myself voting for obama, but much water will go under the bridge, before the elecition.take care

saying i could vote for this man , may have been an overreaction, he still is one of the most liberal senators there are and just in his first term, so he would have to change so much, really i cant vote for him, but he is not the man he was. the world is a dangerous place as radical muslims well into the furure will want all of us dead, and all arab countries want isreal destroyed, u know irans leader's views on isreal total destruction,, that is why they have no choice in what will come to be in the next few months, it survival, that anycountry would do in the same situation, unless they could not protect themselves which isreal can totally do as they have in the 6 day war, and the 67 war i think it is,,,isreal shot down 400 jets in one day, adn did not loose one of their jets back then,,there is a good utube on what isreals airforce did in the 60s,,

Barack Obama meets Afghan President Hamid Karzai By FISNIK ABRASHI, Associated Press Writer


http://yahoo.com

KABUL, Afghanistan - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama pledged steadfast aid to Afghanistan in talks Sunday with its Western-backed leader and vowed to pursue the war on terror "with vigor" if elected, an Afghan official said.


On the second day of an international tour designed to burnish his foreign policy credentials, Illinois Sen. Obama and a pair of colleagues held two hours of talks with President Hamid Karzai at his palace in the capital.

Obama has chided Karzai for not doing more to build confidence in his government, which remains weak after the ouster of the Taliban in 2001.

He made no public comment after the meeting, but said in a written statement that his main purpose was to see U.S troops, thank them for their "extraordinary service" and let them know the United States is proud of them.

Obama said he and his colleagues were talking to military and diplomatic leaders, and Afghanistan's leaders about whether the U.S. has the right strategy and resources to defeat the Taliban and al-Qaida.

"Our message to the Afghan government is this: We want a strong partnership based on 'more for more' — more resources from the United States and NATO, and more action from the Afghan government to improve the lives of the Afghan people," Obama and Sens. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., and Jack Reed, D-R.I., said in a joint statement. "We need a sense of urgency and determination.

"We need urgency because the threat from the Taliban and al-Qaida is growing and we must act; we need determination because it will take time to prevail," they said. "But with the right strategy and the resources to back it up, we will get the job done."

The Afghan presidency said Obama's message was positive.

"Sen. Obama conveyed ... that he is committed to supporting Afghanistan and to continue the war against terrorism with vigor," said Humayun Hamidzada, Karzai's spokesman. He said Democrats and Republicans "are friends of Afghanistan and no matter who wins the U.S. elections, Afghanistan will have a very strong partner in the United States."

The three U.S. senators traveled later Sunday to Kuwait City, where they met with Kuwait's emir, Sheik Sabah Al Ahmed Al Sabah, and other senior officials, the Kuwait News Agency reported. The delegation was then moving on to Baghdad for meetings with commanders of the U.S. war in Iraq.

Obama has made Afghanistan a centerpiece of his proposed strategy for dealing with terrorism threats. The Illinois senator has said the war in Afghanistan, where Taliban and al-Qaida-linked militants are resurgent, deserves more troops and more attention as opposed to the conflict in Iraq. Both Obama and his Republican rival for the presidency, Sen. John McCain, advocate sending more forces to the country.

In an interview broadcast Sunday in the United States, Obama described the situation here as "precarious" and "urgent," and said the U.S. should not wait to begin the planning that would be needed to send in more troops. As troops sent to Iraq as part of the buildup of forces there begin to leave, Obama says one to two brigades should be redirected to Afghanistan to bolster the efforts here.

"The situation is precarious and urgent here in Afghanistan and I believe this has to be our central focus, the central front in our battle against terrorists," Obama told CBS News. "If we wait until the next administration it could be a year before we get those troops on the ground."

While officially part of a congressional delegation on a fact-finding tour, Obama traveled in Afghanistan amid the security accorded a likely Democratic nominee for president rather than a senator from Illinois.

Media access to him was limited, and his itinerary was closely guarded.

Earlier Sunday, he praised U.S. troops during breakfast with soldiers at Camp Eggers, a heavily fortified military base in the city.

"To see young people like this who are doing such excellent work, with so much dedication ... it makes you feel good about the country," Obama said.

"I want to make sure that everybody back home understands how much pride people take in their work here and how much sacrifice people are making. It is outstanding," he said in footage filmed by the military and obtained by The Associated Press.

On Saturday, the delegation received briefings from U.S. commanders and a former Afghan warlord who is now the governor of Nangarhar, a province in eastern Afghanistan where militant attacks are spiraling.

The trip is Obama's first overseas since he secured the Democratic nomination last month. He is scheduled to travel through Europe this week and give a speech on the U.S.-German partnership and trans-Atlantic relations in front of the gold-topped Victory Column, or Siegessaeule, in downtown Berlin.

Obama advocates ending the U.S. combat role in Iraq by withdrawing troops at the rate of one to two brigades a month while increasing the military commitment to Afghanistan. Obama has proposed sending two more combat brigades — about 7,000 troops — to Afghanistan. McCain, who has criticized Obama for not spending more time in the region, also advocates sending more forces to the war-battered country.

U.S. military officials say the number of attacks in eastern Afghanistan, where most of the U.S. forces in the country operate, has increased by 40 percent so far this year compared to the same period last year.

Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, told The Associated Press on Saturday that after intense U.S. assaults there, al-Qaida may be considering shifting focus to its original home base in Afghanistan, where American casualties are recently running higher than in Iraq.

Obama also has expressed weariness with efforts by Afghanistan's neighbor, Pakistan, to go after militants in its territory. That frustration may strike a chord with Karzai, who has accused Pakistan's intelligence service of supporting the Taliban insurgency — a claim Pakistan denies.

But Obama also has chided Karzai and his government, saying it had "not gotten out of the bunker" and helped to organize the country or its political and security institutions.

as i have said before, i work with national guards man, he was a marine in he first gulf war, he has already taken his deployment physical, and said his whole battalion, will be going to afganistan in october,, they have never been activated before,take care

It doesn't sound to me Obama is in a hurry to bring troops home, but just the opposite if he is promising to speed up troop movement into Afghanistan

SSC wrote:It doesn't sound to me Obama is in a hurry to bring troops home, but just the opposite if he is promising to speed up troop movement into Afghanistan

no he will not bring them home any earlier that they are planing now,, and has said we will keep a presencs there in counter terrorism troops,, troops to keep traning iraqs army and police, troops to protect humaitarian efforts, and our ambassador there... and u can bet help the iraqis protect there oil pipe lines as the terrorsist have already damaged them, but they get fixed,,
the guy at work, i mentioned that will have his batallion go to afganistan, i told him about the obama NSA article as susan rice said euro troops will have to increase and have restriction removed, he replyes to me at work that euro troops there now are basically on vacation, but this will end as obama probably new NSA stated ..really what obama is saying is europe is going to have to COWBOY UP, AND KICK SOME TALIBAN ASS,,,LOL,