The Obamians, by James Mann: on Foreign Policy
Barack Obama:
Engage with Iran; but combat Al Qaeda in Pakistan
One important influence upon the new administration's thinking was Lee Hamilton. Hamilton had served as a back-channel adviser to the Obama presidential campaign, both through his former aides and in private talks with Obama himself.
The Obama aides who had previously worked for Hamilton felt the men shared a common worldview, a general sense of the limits of American power. Hamilton had long been a proponent of a policy of engagement with Iran.
Separately, however, he had also favored intensive US military strikes into Pakistan to combat al-Qaeda. Both of these positions became key points on which Obama, as a candidate, had sought to differentiate himself from Hillary Clinton.
After Obama was elected president, these ideas on Iran and Pakistan eventually became among the most prominent and distinctive aspects of the new administration's foreign policy.
Source: The Obamians, by James Mann, p.150
Jun 14, 2012
Barack Obama:
Focus on BRICs: Brazil, Russia, India, China, & South Africa
Early on, the Obama administration seemed to embrace a new concept: Its diplomacy would emphasize 4 emerging economic powers called the BRICs, or Brazil, Russia, India & China. (Later on, South Africa was sometimes added as a 5th country, conveniently
taking up the letter S.) The idea originally came from Wall Street: In 2001, a Goldman-Sachs economist invented the concept of the BRICs to describe the 4 emerging economies that he believed would play an increasingly important role in the world markets.
By 2009, the term had become an addition to the jargon of foreign policy, and the Obama team began to talk about the importance of the BRICs in their speeches. In her first major speech as secretary of state, Clinton said that the Obama administration,
while reinvigorating its traditional alliances, "will also put special emphasis on encouraging major emerging global powers--China, India, Russia & Brazil, as well as Turkey, Indonesia & South Africa--to be full partners in tackling the global agenda."
Source: The Obamians, by James Mann, p.174
Jun 14, 2012
Barack Obama:
Avoid trap of military overstretch; that destroys countries
Obama looked ahead to a time when the US, with all its economic problems, might no longer be able to maintain predominance. He focused on redirecting America's resources and energy toward domestic renewal.
His US would manage to work out a new, more modest international role in line with its new circumstances: its still awesome military power but diminishing economic power.
The ideas underlying Obama's foreign policy were those of Paul Kennedy's book, "The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers." Kennedy's great powers became overstretched in their military commitments yet were unable to give them up, and they eventually
lost their dominant roles. This was the fate of Spain and the Netherlands in the 18th and 19th centuries and Britain and France in the 20th. Obama sought to avoid the trap into which these countries fell.
Source: The Obamians, by James Mann, p.251
Jun 14, 2012
Hillary Clinton:
America is the "indispensable nation"
Quite a few of the ideas voiced by Obama, Hillary Clinton and other Democratic leaders today date back to the period of ferment in the 1970s. One was the idea of America as the "indispensible nation." Hillary Clinton used this phrase as
Obama's secretary of state, explicitly borrowing the words used in the 1990s by Bill Clinton and his secretary of state Madeleine Albright.
But the words didn't originate with them, either. In a 1976 article in "Foreign Policy," Zbigniew Brzezinski wrote of "America the indispensible." Despite its defeat in Vietnam, he argued,
American power remains "central to global stability and progress." During that period, Brzezinski argued that the US should start to give a much higher priority to its relationship with its allies.
Source: The Obamians, by James Mann, p. 20-21
Jun 14, 2012
Hillary Clinton:
Ceremonial role abroad as First Lady, but no NSC meetings
Hillary Clinton was not closely involved in the day-to-day foreign policy operations during Bill Clinton's term. [However], as First Lady, Hillary played a powerful behind-the-scenes role in many of the administration's decisions and a ceremonial role on
trips overseas.Later on, during the presidential campaign against Obama, Hillary Clinton would assert that these efforts demonstrated her experience in foreign policy. But [one of Bill Clinton's appointees from the] State Department said, "she did not
sit in on National Security Council meetings. She did not have a security clearance. She did not manage any part of the national security bureaucracy, nor did she have her own national security staff. She did not do any heavy lifting with foreign
governments, whether they were friendly or not." Her most tangible influence in foreign policy was in selecting personnel: She played an important role in persuading President Clinton to select Madeleine Albright as his second secretary of state.
Source: The Obamians, by James Mann, p. 43-44
Jun 14, 2012
Hillary Clinton:
Focus on BRICs: Brazil, Russia, India, China, & South Africa
Early on, the Obama administration seemed to embrace a new concept: Its diplomacy would emphasize 4 emerging economic powers called the BRICs, or Brazil, Russia, India & China. (Later on, South Africa was sometimes added as a 5th country, conveniently
taking up the letter S.) The idea originally came from Wall Street: In 2001, a Goldman-Sachs economist invented the concept of the BRICs to describe the 4 emerging economies that he believed would play an increasingly important role in the world markets.
By 2009, the term had become an addition to the jargon of foreign policy, and the Obama team began to talk about the importance of the BRICs in their speeches. In her first major speech as secretary of state, Clinton said that the Obama administration,
while reinvigorating its traditional alliances, "will also put special emphasis on encouraging major emerging global powers--China, India, Russia & Brazil, as well as Turkey, Indonesia & South Africa--to be full partners in tackling the global agenda."
Source: The Obamians, by James Mann, p.174
Jun 14, 2012
Hillary Clinton:
Freedom of navigation & open access in South China Sea
[At a meeting] in Hanoi about China's expansive maritime claims, Vietnam quickly brought up the subject of the South China Sea, and several other Southeast Asian countries followed. Clinton, speaking last, took her audience by surprise. Freedom of
navigation was a "national interest" of the US, she said--a phrase that sounded like a counter to China's talk about "core interests." She said the US was determined to maintain open access to the South China Sea, in effect rejecting China's claims to
sovereignty there. Much of the world's shipping tonnage--including oil from the Middle East to northeast Asia--passes through the South China Sea. Clinton said the US would be willing to serve as an intermediary or facilitator for multilateral talks
over the competing claims.The US was, in effect, rejecting China's claims in the South China Sea. Its suggestion of multilateral talks also undercut China's strategy; Vietnam had most eagerly sought to "internationalize" its dispute with China.
Source: The Obamians, by James Mann, p.246
Jun 14, 2012
Hillary Clinton:
New American Moment: new ways of global leadership
She didn't want Obama's speech to be misinterpreted overseas as a sign that America was in retreat, that it would bring its troops home and turn inward.Clinton began by saying that the world's problems required bringing people together "as only
America can." Foreign leaders and ordinary people overseas "look to America not just to engage, but to lead," she said. Then she quickly came to the heart of her speech: "Let me say it clearly: The US can, must and will lead in this new century."
This was a "New American Moment," Clinton said, the words capitalized in the transcript of the speech to indicate a special phrase meant to be highlighted. It was "a moment when our global leadership is essential, even if we must often lead in new ways."
When she extolled the virtues of diplomacy, she immediately added, "Of course, this administration is also committed to maintaining the greatest military in the history of the world, and, if needed, to vigorously defend ourselves and our friends."
Source: The Obamians, by James Mann, p.249
Jun 14, 2012
Joe Biden:
GOP too tough but not smart; Dems not tough enough
Joe Biden, who was then lining up to run for the 1988 Democratic presidential nomination, aptly summarized the obstacles the party faced. Biden argued that the Democrats needed to shake off a sense of drift and paralysis in foreign policy caused by its
reaction to Vietnam. "The American people have grave doubts about the Democrats' willingness to back diplomacy with power," Biden said in 1986. "People think the Republicans are too tough but not very smart, and the Democrats are not tough enough."
Source: The Obamians, by James Mann, p. 26
Jun 14, 2012
Joe Biden:
VP role: bring experience, but not deciding voice
In her early days as secretary of state, Hillary Clinton seemed uncertain of her role within the administration and eager to show she was no wild-eyed idealist (as Republicans liked to portray her).
Vice President Joe Biden seemed to sympathize with those who favored an emphasis on democracy and human rights, but
Biden was not the deciding voice in the administration; he'd been put on the ticket not to make foreign policy, but to demonstrate to voters that the Obama administration would have foreign policy experience.
No one expected Secretary of Defense Gates to be anything other than a realist; the Pentagon is not typically the place from which to lead a campaign to spread democracy.
Source: The Obamians, by James Mann, p.169
Jun 14, 2012
Sarah Palin:
FactCheck: Never said, "I can see Russia from my house"
Palin's foreign policy experience is criticized in the following passage:McCain's decision to appoint Sarah Palin as his vice presidential nominee & her own utterances on foreign policy ("I can see Russia from my house") made it all but impossible
to claim that he was the cautious, conservative candidate.
Is that a fair criticism? The FactCheck says NO, it's unfair and biased.
The author seems to be quoting Palin verbatim, as an indicator of her inexpertise. But every journalist knows that
Palin never actually said that phrase--it was uttered by the actress Tina Fey as a spoof of Palin on "Saturday Night Live." Palin actually said:
They're our next-door neighbors, and you can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska, from an
island in Alaska.
Palin was pointing out that Alaska borders Russia, and she is correct. It's fair to mock Palin for ignorance based on misstatements she actually said--but it's unfair to use THAT phrase to mock Palin, since Palin never said it.
Source: OnTheIssues FactCheck on The Obamians, by James Mann, p. 98
Jun 14, 2012
Page last updated: Feb 25, 2019