Before I get too far into this post, while I don’t believe that Rahm Emanuel is serving the Obama White House well as Chief of Staff, I do think he’s brilliant and would excel in other roles for the team — but that is not the purpose of this post.
I visited Nixon Library & Birthplace Foundation Director John Taylor’s interesting blog, The New Nixon, this morning to see what he had posted on General Alexander Haig, whom Taylor knew very well.
(photo credit: Bo Elkjaer, Denmark) TWN reader Bo Elkjaer, based in Copenhagen but also a recent visitor to Washington, submitted this for TWN‘s “View from Your Window” feature (borrowed with respect and permission from Andrew Sullivan at The Daily Dish). Bo Elkjaer writes that this shot was taken at the intersection of Alhambravej and H.C….
It’s been a big week for American-Syrian relations, with President Obama taking incremental but necessary steps towards renewing ties between the two countries: naming Robert S.
Gates to Petraeus: IRAQI FREEDOM to become NEW DAWN National Security high tech intel expert Christopher Tucker, who probably will run the CIA one day, sent me this bit of interesting news. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has agreed to General David Petraeus’ request to change “Operation IRAQI FREEDOM” to “Operation NEW DAWN.
One of General Anthony Zinni’s more tough criticisms of the Obama administration this past year was that it had not placed a high enough priority on issuing its “National Security Strategy” report. The National Security Act requires the President to issue such a report within 150 days of the start of his or her administration….
(photo credit: Ben Rosengart) TWN reader Ben Rosengart who has been with us from day one I think has sent in this picture of a car covered in cherry blossoms. Apparently, it’s cherry- and plum-blossom season in Berkeley, California. Ben writes: “Also note the calla lily in the far lower right corner.
Tomorrow, former IAEA Director Mohamed Elbaradei moves from Vienna to Egypt, where many want to see him run for the Presidency in future elections (a tough hill to climb given a million barriers). Elbaradei himself has stated he is interested if genuinely open, free elections were constructed.
(collection of photos from passports of individuals suspected in the assassination of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh) Taylor Marsh has a great post up that pieces together elements of the Robert Ludlumesque intrigue around the recent assassination in Dubai of Hamas commander Mahmoud al-Mabhouh.
This was an interesting BloggingHeads exchange for me because neoconservative thinker and FrumForum blogger David Frum and I largely agree that the “hit Iran hard” track in America’s current diplomacy could be counterproductive.