Senate Foreign Relations Committee

Potential Republican Presidential Candidates And Foreign Policy, As Compared To Hillary Clinton And Joe Biden

Ronald 2 Comments

The Republican Party is offering potential Presidential candidates who have no clue on world affairs, or have dangerous views on foreign policy, and/or have no experience to speak of in diplomatic situations.

The following potential candidates have NO credentials at all in this important area in a world that is changing rapidly:

Rand Paul
Ted Cruz
Marco Rubio
Paul Ryan
Rick Santorum
Rick Perry
Chris Christie
Jeb Bush
Bobby Jindal
Scott Walker
John Thune

it is true that Rand Paul and Marco Rubio sit on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and that Jeb Bush’s brother and father were President of the United States, and foreign policy has been discussed within that family.

But compare that to Hillary Clinton, who was Secretary of State for four years, and learned about foreign policy under her husband, President Bill Clinton, in the 1990s.

And Vice President Joe Biden had 36 years in the Senate, including time as Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and now is in his second term as Vice President, intimately involved in foreign policy issues.

So NONE of the GOP potential Presidential candidates have any real, valuable experience, except in speaking out on issues they know nothing about!

Foreign policy will be a most important issue in 2016, so who could the GOP run who could compete with either Hillary or Joe, and give them a real challenge?

The only person who fits this profile is former Utah Governor and Ambassador to China, and earlier Ambassador to Singapore, Jon Huntsman, who is a moderate mainstream conservative. He is very talented, brilliant, multilingual including Chinese, and knows and understands world affairs!

But would the Republican Party have the brains and intelligence to choose Huntsman as their Presidential nominee?

The answer is ZERO, and because of that, the GOP does not offer experienced, qualified candidates for the Presidency on foreign affairs, such as Richard Nixon, George H. W. Bush, Bob Dole, and John McCain in the past!

60th Anniversary Of Castro Revolution In Cuba: What Is The Future?

Ronald 4 Comments

60 years ago on this day, Fidel Castro led a failed attempt to seize an army barracks, which is marked as the beginning of his revolutionary uprising against Fulgencio Batista, leading after five and a half years of struggle to his seizure of power in Havana on January 1, 1959.

Fidel Castro gave up power due to medical problems in 2006, after 47 plus years of leadership, but his brother Raul succeeded him, and the Castro dynasty is still in power in Cuba after 54 and a half years, and Fidel Castro will be 87 years of age nest month, and is reported in good health.

Fidel Castro, as evil a man as he is, will go down as the most significant Latin American government leader of the past century of history, with only Juan Peron of Argentina a weak second behind him.

The effect of Cuba on the international scene has been massive, considering the fact that Cuba never made a dent in world affairs before Castro, and we nearly had nuclear war between the US and the Soviet Union 51 years ago, a year and a half after a failed American attempt to use Cuban exiles to overthrow him in the Bay of Pigs fiasco!

And our domestic politics has been profoundly affected by the loyalty of the few million Cuban Americans to the Republican Party, making them a distinct Hispanic group in their political behavior, particularly in Florida!

We have also seen three Cuban US Senators–Robert Menendez of New Jersey, Marco Rubio of Florida, and Ted Cruz of Texas–who have a great impact in the US Senate, as well as a few in the House of Representatives. Menendez is the lone Cuban Democrat who has made it to a prominent position, Chairman of The Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

The question is what will happen when Fidel and Raul Castro leave the scene, at least officially in 2018, according to the plans of Raul Castro to retire. How will Cuba evolve, and how will the United States react to change in Cuba? Will democracy develop in Cuba or come about by a new revolution, or will the Castro influence and Communism persist in Cuba?

This island, just 90 miles from the Florida Keys, will become the center of world politics again very soon, and what happens there will affect America domestically and in foreign affairs for the long term future, just as it has for the past six decades!

The Castro brothers have managed to survive in power through the terms of 11 Presidents from Dwight D. Eisenhower to Barack Obama! It is an amazing story just by that reality!

The Smearing And Character Assassination Of Bill Clinton And John Kerry Reversed: The Rewriting Of History By The Right Wing

Ronald 12 Comments

Many people have very short memories, and many Republicans and conservative right wing activists have the amazing ability to rewrite history, and make former “demons” suddenly seem acceptable.

So is the case with President Bill Clinton and 2004 Presidential nominee John Kerry, both of whom have suddenly become “acceptable” and “mainstream”, as the smearing and character assassination of Barack Obama continues in earnest!

Bill Clinton was savaged, accused of every scandal imaginable, brutally mistreated by the opposition party for eight years, and put through the torment of an impeachment, which everyone knew would NOT lead to removal from office, but was designed to besmirch his historical accomplishments.

John Kerry was bitterly attacked, his record distorted, his Vietnam War service trivialized because he had the gall to challenge the war as a mistake, in testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee 42 years ago, and made out to be an unpatriotic American, while his opponent, George W. Bush, sat out his military service in the National Guard reading magazine, and often not showing up at all, all due to family connections.

Now, suddenly, you cannot hear enough praise about the Bill Clinton Presidency, including Paul Ryan this morning saying how different things would be now if only Clinton was President. This is an amazing statement, but only the most recent of laudatory comments by Republicans and conservatives toward the 42nd President.

And, suddenly, as Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry is nominated to be Secretary of State, the praise and compliments from his former Republican enemies is overwhelming, and he faces little opposition for confirmation. Nothing is said about his supposed “anti American” statements on the war in Vietnam before the committee he now heads, and how he will now be leading our foreign policy, an idea which would have shocked his critics just eight years ago.

The right wing is rewriting history, hoping that the memory and ignorance of most people about past events is forgotten.

Instead, the attention is given to making Barack Obama a demon, a threat to the nation, to make him out as a man unwilling to negotiate, when it is the opposition which has been intransigent for the past four years, and is still engaged in smearing and character assassination greater than either Bill Clinton or John Kerry experienced!

One would have thought any greater assault was not conceivable, but here it is in full throttle!!

And since Obama will not be coming back for a third term, one can already see the revival of the attacks on Hillary Clinton, as the Benghazi, Libya tragedy is politicized for all it is worth. And since she is a woman, of course she must be trashed, destroyed, eviscerated as the likely future enemy, as the right wing assault machine goes into full gear to elect someone they want, to reverse things back to the “good old days” of Ronald Reagan!

But of course, Chris Christie, by working with Barack Obama, is also, already, being smeared and trashed, because he actually has some “moderate” elements in him, and some views on some issues that does not fit the mold of the far right. Chris Christie, if he runs for President in 2016, will discover just how venal and vicious the attack will be on him for being a “traitor” to the cause, just as much as Colin Powell has been experiencing recently, because of his view that the Republican Party must change its tune, its views, its image, its principles, or face extinction.

It is often said that the media are tilted to the left, when in reality, the right wing media is very much in a time of prosperity and growth, with Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and Joe Biden helping to energize their conspiracy theories, the image that the Republic is in danger of destruction all because we have a person of color, a woman, and a man of principle and convictions, playing major roles in the development of our domestic and foreign policy!

Hillary Clinton Under Attack Even Before Retiring From State Department: The Best Solution For Her Future Is The Supreme Court

Ronald 1 Comment

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton underwent a massive attack on her testimony on the Benghazi, Libya controversy before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee yesterday, primarily from Tea Party Senators Rand Paul of Kentucky and Eon Johnson of Wisconsin.

But she also was viciously attacked, as in the old days of her husband’s Presidency and during her Senate years, by right wing talk show hosts such as Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity. Even the New York Post, owned by Rupert Murdoch, went after her in its headlines today.

Any idea that, somehow, Hillary Clinton could be “crowned” President, was always a delusion. If she decides to run, she will be under tremendous stress from the opposition Republican party, and they have decided to “soften her up” during the period before she has to decide whether to run for President in 2016.

As this author has already stated at the beginning of this month, it seems highly doubtful that Hillary will run for the nomination, as it could literally kill her in the quest, or if she made the White House, while in office. Her earlier health scare is an excellent reason for a woman of 65 to decide that she has better things to do from age 67-77 than to run for President, and deal with the massive problems of eight tough years in office.

But Hillary Clinton can play a major role in American government, without running for President, and with a lot lower stress level.

When Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg retires from the Supreme Court, likely this June, but certainly during this term of Barack Obama, the President could reward Hillary Clinton with an appointment to the Court, which could last at least 15 years until she is 80, and a position where she would be immune from political attack, help to influence the future of constitutional law, and make a major contribution to the history of the Supreme Court. The only battle she would have is when there would be attacks on her nomination, but with a 55 Democratic seat edge, she certainly would be confirmed.

Once considered one of the top 100 lawyers in the nation in the years before her husband became President, Hillary Clinton would be a wonderful addition to the Supreme Court, and would cap her career in a very distinguished and dignified manner.

So, President Obama, start thinking quietly and privately about consulting with Hillary Clinton on the idea of her becoming the 113th individual to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States!

Rand Paul And Ron Johnson: The Disgrace Of The Senate!

Ronald 30 Comments

Unfortunately, the US Senate, while populated by some great figures, and some ordinary personalities, also has the misfortune of having the Tea Party Caucus, with two of its most prominent members, Kentucky Senator Rand Paul and Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson. making a total disgrace of themselves yesterday in the Benghazi, Libya Hearings in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Aggressively grilling Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in a disrespectful manner, Ron Johnson implied that Clinton was putting on an emotional acting job in her sincere upset over the loss of four diplomats, including Ambassador Chris Stevens, and seemed to expect Clinton to read 1.4 million cables personally!

Paul went further, saying if he had been President, he would have removed Clinton as Secretary of State immediately, because of the attack by terrorists in Libya, and her handling of the issue.. This excuse for a Senator has the gall to attack Hillary Clinton’s credentials, when he has worked with Johnson and others in the Senate, as well as House Republicans, to cut the budget for embassy security around the world.

What hypocrisy, what grandstanding, for the benefit of their own egos, particularly for Rand Paul, who is openly considering running for President, an office he will never attain, and if he the nominee of the GOP, he will have that party wishing for the days of Mitt Romney and John McCain, who at least were sane and had stable personalities, while Paul is a loose cannon, an embarrassment to himself and even to his more stable father, former Texas Congressman Ron Paul.

All that came out of this hearing was that Hillary Clinton handled herself well, came across as professional and intellectual, and Johnson and Paul just demonstrated that they are pygmies by comparison, lightweights intellectually, and show what happens when states elect US Senators who scrape the bottom of the barrel in their character and ethics.

The Likelihood Of Joe Biden Succeeding Barack Obama: Less Than 50%

Ronald 2 Comments

With the second term of President Barack Obama beginning, already the news media is speculating on the likelihood of Vice President Joe Biden running for President, and the odds that he will be the nominee of the Democratic Party in 2016, and become our next President.

Biden is certainly encouraging speculation, while saying he has not made up his mind. It is clear that he would like to run, but even he admits that the success or lack of success of the first two years of the second term of Obama, on top of his first term, will have a dramatic effect on his decision to run, and the odds of his having a good chance to become the 45th President of the United States.

Biden has a long record in public office, actually greater in number of years than any President of the United States having come to the Senate at the minimum age of 30, serving six terms (36 years), and now on his second term as Vice President, which, when he completes it, will mean he has served 44 years in national office.

Biden knows Washington DC like few know it. He also knows how to work with the opposition Republican Party in a manner unseen since Lyndon B. Johnson, although Johnson had a much more unorthodox approach to bargaining, and “wheeler dealing”, than the much more proper and mannerly Joe Biden.

But he also has a long list of gaffes, most not harmful, except to those who oppose him, and his liberal views have alienated major groups, as he has worked on issues highly controversial, including gun rights, women’s rights, gay rights, civil rights, foreign policy, Supreme Court nominees, and protection of the Great Society and New Deal programs, including the so called “entitlements”.

And his age, now 70, meaning he would be 74-78 in a first term, and 78-82 in a second term, is not a plus, as we only had one President beyond the age of 70, Ronald Reagan, who seemed to be in decline in his second term of office, finishing it at age 77 and about 49 weeks,

And there is the challenge of Hillary Clinton, whose public opinion ratings are higher than Biden’s, although there is much doubt that she will, ultimately, run for the Presidency. This author and blogger has already theorized, at the beginning of January, that Hillary will decide not to run. Her performance in testifying today at the Benghazi, Libya hearings of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee will be crucial in any plans she might have, after a good rest and recovery period, to run for President in 2016.

And of course, there is the “younger” or “newer” generation of political leaders who have interest in running—including Governors Andrew Cuomo of New York and Martin O’Malley of Maryland, both taking strong leadership on gay marriage and gun regulations in their states; plus others, including Senator Mark Warner of Virginia, and Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, and even possibly others, including Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Governor John Hickenlooper of Colorado.

So the likelihood of Joe Biden running, while good, is not, automatically going to give him an edge in a field of many likely challengers. And of course, even if many Republicans like Joe Biden personally, it is certain, and obvious, that they are building up a long list of issues to use against the Vice President, should he end up as the Democratic nominee for President in 2016.

The Case For A Team Of John Kerry And Chuck Hagel As Barack Obama’s National Security Team

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President Barack Obama has already faced problems with his thought to appoint UN Ambassador Susan Rice to the State Department, and she dropped out and allowed him to move toward the appointment of Senator John Kerry, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and 2004 Democratic Presidential nominee, to be his Secretary of State, but not yet announced officially.

But now, his planned but unannounced appointment of former Republican Senator Chuck Hagel of Nebraska to be his Secretary of Defense in his second term as President is meeting resistance.

The point to be made is that any President should be able to choose his team, particularly a National Security team, that fits his desires, and therefore, automatically, the President should be given slack to pick who he wishes.

The opposition to Hagel comes from those in the Pentagon who do not like that Hagel has said in the past that there is waste in the Defense Department that can be cut, a statement which has absolute validity. It is clear that Hagel would widh to “clean house” if he came to the Pentagon, but that is good, and should not be a reason to deny him the post.

Also, the Pro Israel Lobby, and particulary AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee), is against Hagel because he has, at times, in the US Senate, been critical of Israeli policy in the West Bank, building Jewish settlements.

While certainly AIPAC can have its views on any nominee, it should not be allowed to deny a President who he wants, and the important point, that is necessary to say again and again, is that under no circumstances will Barack Obama and his government ever allow any harm to Israel, and this was made very clear in the recent Gaza Strip events when the IRON DOME system provided and financed by the United States, saved Israel from greater attack. But our government cannot and should not feel that it can be dictated to by ANY foreign government or pressure group to have to agree one hundred percent on every action and statement of a foreign government!

Also, in favor of Hagel, as well as Kerry, is that both were Vietnam War veterans, and understand the horrors of war, and it is great to have two such men, both having served in the Senate, and possessing great principles and courage, to head our National Security team under President Obama in his second term.

So, hopefully, the soon announcement of the appointments of Kerry and Hagel will be forthcoming!

John Kerry Joins Distinguished Company Of Seven Former Presidential Nominees Who Have Served As Secretary Of State

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The indication that President Barack Obama has decided to nominate Massachusetts Senator John Kerry as the next Secretary of State adds dignity and statesmanship to that office, particularly in light of the exceptional leadership of the present Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton.

Kerry has had a distinguished career as a United States Senator for 28 years, and is the tenth most senior member of the present Senate, and was, of course, the 2004 Democratic Presidential nominee, losing a close race to George W. Bush, because of the electoral result in Ohio.

Kerry has been Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for the past four years, and had he won the Presidency in 2004, he would have been responsible for our foreign policy for the past eight years, assuming he had won a second term.

He becomes the eighth Presidential nominee to lose the White House and become Secretary of State, following Henry Clay (under John Quincy Adams); Daniel Webster (under John Tyler); John C. Calhoun (under John Tyler); Lewis Cass (under James Buchanan); James G. Blaine (under Benjamin Harrison); William Jennings Bryan (under Woodrow Wilson); and Charles Evans Hughes (under Warren G. Harding and Calvin Coolidge).

These Secretaries of State stood out as major figures in their times, and in our history long term, and John Kerry will be seen the same way when he retires from the State Department after serving Barack Obama.

The Susan Rice Controversy: The Final Disgrace Of John McCain And Lindsey Graham!

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The announcement by Susan Rice, the United Nations Ambassador, that she is withdrawing her candidacy to be Secretary of State, due to the controversy over the Libyan terrorist attack in Benghazi, which killed Ambassador Chris Stevens and three others on September 11, is a great tragedy.

It is the character assassination of a woman who has devoted her career to public service, and was only stating what was known on September 16, five days after the attack.

If anything, the CIA head, David Petraeus, now disgraced by an affair with his biographer, should be held accountable for this mess, but of course, he is so much idolized by many that he is given a free pass by politicians, and just allowed to resign, when he should be investigated for the danger he represented as our chief spy, allowing himself to be compromised!

It is not a question of whether Susan Rice is the best qualified person to be Secretary of State, as this author truly believes that Senator John Kerry, the 2004 Democratic Presidential nominee and Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman, is the best person available.

But to trash the reputation of Susan Rice over something she was not responsible for is a human tragedy, and shows how far Republicans are willing to go to destroy others in their desire to damage President Obama, even after his second term victory!

Senator John McCain and Senator Lindsey Graham both had reasonable reputations before now, but what they have done is enough to destroy their historical image and their effectiveness for the rest of the time they might serve in the upper chamber!

They are two bitter men who have become negative forces, and are part of the problem of the Republican Party for the future!

If these two men have become destructive forces, that is a sign that the Republican Party is dying, and will soon be replaced by a new, moderate centrist party!

Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, and Dwight D. Eisenhower are all in deep mourning in the afterlife, wondering how their beloved party became so self destructive and hateful, and the dirty deeds of McCain and Graham will, likely, be two of the final nails in the coffin of the “Grand Old Party”!

And the best thing Barack Obama could do now is select Susan Rice to be National Security Adviser, a position not subject to the whims of the US Senate for confirmation! Prove that John McCain and Lindsey Graham have been upended by putting Rice in a position on an equal footing with the Secretary of State, and make the Republicans scream and yell in protest! It would be just desserts!

Best Team For America’s Future Security: John Kerry For Secretary Of State, And Chuck Hagel For Secretary Of Defense

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In the midst of the “Fiscal Cliff” battle, President Obama is also deep into Cabinet selection, and it was heartening to hear that former Nebraska Senator Chuck Hagel, a Republican who served in Vietnam and became an acknowledged expert on foreign policy in his years on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has been at the White House, and is a hot candidate for Secretary of Defense.

This author has long raved about the credentials of Hagel, and suggested him for the cabinet in the first term, and it now seems more likely that he might become the head of the Pentagon when Leon Panetta leaves soon.

This would be continuing the tradition of past Democratic Presidents to decide to choose reputable Republicans for the Defense Department, and it even goes back to when it was called the War Department before 1947.

The historical record shows Franklin D. Roosevelt having Henry Stimson, former Secretary of State under Herbert Hoover, as his Secretary of War, along with Frank Knox, who had been the Republican Vice Presidential nominee in 1936, being named Secretary of the Navy, both in 1940, when Great Britain was being attacked by the German Air Force in World War II, and the threat to America was seen as dire by many as a result.

John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson utilized Robert McNamara as Secretary of Defense in the 1960’s.

Bill Clinton had former Maine Senator William Cohen, a responsible and reputable Republican Senator, as his Secretary of Defense in the second term, and he received kudos for his performance.

And Robert Gates, George W. Bush’s second Secretary of Defense, became Barack Obama’s first Secretary of Defense, and did a wonderful job for more than two years.

So the reasoning to pick Hagel is clearly there, but to make the foreign policy-defense team complete, the President also needs to choose Massachusetts Senator John Kerry, a Vietnam War veteran too, and 2004 Democratic Party Presidential nominee, to replace Hillary Clinton at the State Department, after 28 years of service in the US Senate, and chairmanship of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Kerry has had a distinguished career, and would be an excellent choice, and the team of Kerry and Hagel would be sensational.

In a time of trouble and turmoil, America needs its strongest team on national security, and Kerry and Hagel fit the bill, without any question or doubt.

Susan Rice, the UN Ambassador, is also outstanding in many ways, but quite frankly, is not on the same level as Kerry, and her nomination would cause unnecessary turmoil over the issue of Libya, a sad commentary, but a distraction which should not be allowed to continue by choosing her, when Kerry is really a better choice!

So, Mr. President, pick John Kerry for State and Chuck Hagel for Defense, and America will be very well served at Foggy Bottom and the Pentagon!