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March 9, 2010
Exclusive: Is the White House Seeing the Light on Security Issues?
Presidential Policy: Does It Make the Grade?, James Jay Carafano, PhD
Maybe less is more. The White House has not paid much attention to national security and foreign policy of late. The less they do, the better things seem to be going.
First item – word that the administration may give up on its plan to trash Bush policies on detention and trial. Press reports suggest that KSM may be turned over for trial by military tribunal. The administration immediately got flack from the left and rushed out statements that a decision was weeks away. Still, there are signs, at least for now, that the White House has seen the light. The White House has matured tremendously on this issue. The administration should be commended for having the courage to reverse themselves on such a high profile and deeply important policy issue. In order to make the military commission system work, the Obama administration must now fully and enthusiastically embrace and promote its legitimacy. The best way for them to do that is by making a commitment to give the commissions the full resources and support needed for fair and speedy trials.
Second item – more good news on the war front. This weekend, a senior Pakistani government official source stated that Adam Gadahn has been arrested in Pakistan. There are conflicting reports as to the identity of this al Qaeda operative. The important thing is that they arrested this terrorist.Along with the reported arrests and death of high-ranking Taliban officials, as well as the continued offensive in Afghanistan, these are all welcome signs that we are taking the fight to the enemy.
Item three – Iraq getting ready for historic elections. The March 7th parliamentary elections, concludes Heritage Middle East analyst Jim Phillips, “will be a major milestone that will help determine that nation's future political evolution and prospects for security and stability. Additionally, these elections will significantly affect the Obama Administration's plans for a rapid drawdown of U.S. troops in Iraq.” A solid election result should help keep the administration strategy for Iraq on track.
There, of course, continues to be a pretty big dark side to U.S. policy – a complete inability to deal effectively with Iran. Recently Heritage analysts outlined 10 steps to bringing freedom to Iran. The problem is that of these ten steps, the White House has adopted – zero. That is a problem. The regime in Iran possesses a serious threat to the United States and its allies.
With a mix of good and bad news, the administration gets a grade “O” for “okay” for the week. The White House needs to watch out, however, because Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad could really change the grading curve. Last week, he declared 9/11 a “big lie.” With a leader like Ahmadinejad, the regime in Iran remains a dangerous, unstable, and unpredictable foe.
FamilySecurityMatters.org Contributing Editor James Jay Carafano, Ph.D., is a leading expert in defense affaires, intelligence, military operations and strategy, and homeland security at the Heritage Foundation.
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