Move Chuck Hagel From Obama “Team B” to “Team A”

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This next week on Wednesday, 8 September at the New America Foundation a group of academics, business leaders, journalists, and other policy practitioners — organized as ‘The Afghanistan Study Group’ will formally release this new report titled “New Way Forward: Rethinking U.S. Strategy in Afghanistan.” The report can be downloaded here.

The French Connection & Middle East Talks

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(Jean-David Levitte and France President Nicolas Sarkozy) European High Representative for Foreign Affairs & Security Policy Baroness Catherine Ashton decided to head to China instead of participating in the Middle East stakeholders dinner hosted by President Obama in the Old Family Dining Room this week.

Guns, Religion and the Glenn Beck Rally

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(photo depicts participants in Glenn Beck led march on Washington; November 23, 2009) I hope that David Frum is right and that the Tea Party movement, which is growing in numbers and ferocity, will hit its limit, experience an Icarus moment, and plunge back into the fringe of American politics where pugnacious, jingoistic, narrow band…

To be a Fly on the White House Old Family Dining Room Wall. . .

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This is the roster of who is coming to dinner tonight: President Obama President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt King Abdullah of Jordan Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Quartet Representative Tony Blair According to a pool report written by Huffington Post‘s Sam Stein, the…

Obama Closes Iraq War: Turns Attention to Economy

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President Obama was right to give his speech punctuating the end of US combat operations in Iraq from the Oval Office as opposed to one of the military academies. In his speech tonight, the President said: Tonight, I am announcing that the American combat mission in Iraq has ended.

US Strategic Opportunity in Pakistan Flooding Relief

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George Soros is working hard behind the scenes to help the Obama administration realize that a billion dollars spent now, carefully, and in a structure that could create a systemic improvement in Indus River water management helping India and Pakistan would be greatly welcomed by the currently besieged victims in Pakistan of historic-level flooding and…

Happy Birthday Ben!

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Today is Ben Katcher’s birthday, and Ben, well known to TWN readers as a contributing editor here, is preparing for a new life in Istanbul. Today is also the day that Mother Teresa said was her birthday as she was baptized on August 27th, though born on August 26th (100 years ago).