Mike Luckovich Cartoon on our Congress

If today’s Congress presided during Watergate

Obama's Plan for Iraq

Barack Obama shares his plan for Iraq in an op-ed today in the NY Times. I'm glad that he's still sticking with his 16 month draw down. What's new to me is the mention of a residual force remaining in Iraq afterwards. Perhaps he's mentioned the residual force before, but I hadn't heard of it. This residual force's missions would include "going after any remnants of Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia, protecting American service members and, so long as the Iraqis make political progress, training Iraqi security forces."

I have some misgivings and questions about this residual force. First, the U.S. would not be completely out of Iraq, something that I believe should occur and that I think many in the Middle East, particularly the Iraqi citizenry would prefer. I think any U.S. military footprint in Iraq would be unwelcome to Iraqis. The U.S. has wreaked and triggered enough damage on Iraq for it to be persona non grata. Views could change on this if Iraqis do see a good faith effort by Obama, his administration, and the U.S. military in getting Iraq back on its feet, being independent, and moving towards the sustainability of a peaceful society. The residual force though does serve to provide strategic and political flexibility. It's not necessarily an unwise option, but I think it's purpose is to play more to a U.S. audience than an Iraqi audience.

The obvious question about the residual force is: What size would it be? 5,000 troops? 10,000 troops? Obama's got to be questioned on that if the media has any sense of what its job is. Most likely though, Obama won't initially provide a number. It would be hard to at this early stage, but there's a range that he has to have in mind, and it's one that he should share with the voters and Iraqis. Also, how long would the residual force be expected to stay in Iraq? This is an even harder question to answer, but it is a fair one to ask.

It would also be nice to know what the Iraqis would think of Obama's plan. Has Obama's campaign gotten any insight into what the Iraqis would be agreeable to. We hear now that the Iraqis are in favor of a withdrawal timetable. What do they think of a residual force?

Though Obama explains this plan, and it's good to have one, the big question is how is the Iraqi political process going to play out. There are still many unresolved issues, and it's still very uncertain as to whether the Shias, Sunnis, and Kurds can coexist under one government.

It's good to get the plan (at least the general plan) down in print after last week's kerfuffle about whether Obama was changing is position on Iraq. It's sure to trigger much discussion in the blogosphere and in MSM.

Michael DeBakey Dies at 99

Dr. Michael DeBakey, a medical legend, died last night in Houston. Here's an obit.

Flowcharts of Old and New FISA

Here's an interesting page showing flowcharts detailing the various combinations of communications that can or cannot be surveiled without a warrant. I'm assuming that it's correct unless I see otherwise. The graphical depiction helps in trying to grasp the important controversial points amongst the complexity of FISA.

Jonathan Turley Yesterday Before the FISA Vote

A Sad Day

The Senate passed the horrid "compromise" FISA bill today. NY Times article here. Roll call vote here. My enthusiasm for Barack Obama has taken a big nosedive.

Upcoming StrangeBedFellows Money Bomb

Christopher Hitchens Tries Out Waterboarding

Here is a rather bizarre video of Christopher Hitchens as he tries out waterboarding.

Keeping the Pressure on Obama Regarding FISA

Glenn Greenwald has a fantastic post today regarding the swiss cheese Obama campaign's explanations for Obama's support of the "compromise" FISA bill (there's holes in them). He, as well the referenced NY Times article, also refers to a network of Obama supporters who are trying to pressure Obama to reverse his support for the bill. Here's the group link which may require creating an account to view. A good blog about the group here. Also referenced a tool (described here) for making it easier to contact your Congressional representatives.

Russ on FISA - Whats Next

A Senator we can be proud of.

Dreams From My Father

I just finished reading Barack Obama's Dreams From My Father. It's a very memorable book. It's Obama's first book, a memoir that doesn't cover all aspects of his life until the time he wrote it. It skips many years in some parts of the narrative. It focuses on his upbringing in Hawaii (mainly by his grandparents), his time as a community activist in Chicago, and his first visit to Kenya. The upbringing part (Part 1, Origins) is poignant as Obama is rather an outsider, does not know his father other than in letters and a visit when Obama is 10, and starts to discover what it means to be black, but then of course, he is not that black because is mother is white. While reading this part though I didn't find Obama having many problems adjusting to whatever situation he was put in.

The most memorable parts to me were about his time in Chicago and the Kenya visit. I was impressed by Obama's dedication, planning, and intelligence in helping the less well off in Chicago's south side. What was also brought home was the difficulty and hard work (quite a slog) involved in getting people together to improve their community, particularly for people who are struggling just to get by. The successes that he and his group of activists had were inspiring, but there were still many more community issues to tackle.

I think the memorable things about Obama's first trip to Kenya were 1) he finally met and learned much about his father's side of the family-rather a complicated one, 2) with a name like Obama he found a place where he was naturally accepted, and 3) it was enlightening to read about the simpler lives of Kenyans but also their economic struggles and the legacy of British colonialism. I think the trip must have made Obama feel more complete. His father's family had a history.

Lastly, one impression I picked up about Obama was that he had and I'm sure still does have a strong work ethic. I think that was enforced on him by his mother and even from his father from a distance. I was particularly impressed by his time in New York where he seemed to be the most on his own and when he became rather disciplined, almost ascetic. He declined to go in a conventional route where he could accrue the monetary gains and instead followed his ideals. I was impressed that he wrote all over the country trying to find an organization through which he could get involved. And eventually he did find one in Chicago.

While lately I haven't been happy with some of Obama's recent political positions, I am glad to have an idea of who he is and where he comes from.