Archives: December 2009

I am enjoying receiving pretty quick updates from White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs on the meetings President Obama is having in Copenhagen.

This may not seem like a big deal to many, but as one who watches Senate process closely, I believe that this seemingly minor exchange is a symptom of how stressed the US Senate is regarding health care reform and Senator Joseph Lieberman‘s role.

What follows below is a chunk of the President’s speech today in Copenhagen.

One of the most striking aspects of Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan’s visit to Washington last week was the attention paid to Turkey’s increasingly active role in the Middle East.

Yesterday, the New America Foundation hosted a public forum which considered whether a coherent strategy or “Obama Doctrine” is emerging after nearly one year of President Obama’s presidency.

Photo credit: Carly/Hoboken Now Anya Landau French is director of research for the New America Foundation/U.S.-Cuba Policy Initiative and contributes regularly to the Havana Note.

The video clip above is well worth the time — focused on thinking through what “soft power” really means in today’s world and how British and American efforts are similar and/or diverge.

Last Monday – the same day that Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived in Washington to meet with President Obama – ten United States senators wrote the letter below to Turkey’s Ambassador to the United States Nabi Sensoy – expressing concern about the recent deterioration of relations between Turkey and Israel.

Is it too early in the Obama Administration to start using the phrase “Obama Doctrine” or is a clear vision and accompanying strategy emerging? Between laying out his strategy for the war in Afghanistan last week and delivering a surprising oration on the Just War tradition upon receiving his Nobel Peace Prize this week, a…