A SEAMLESS TEAM FOR NATIONAL SECURITY
“We want to make sure that there is as seamless a transition on national security as possible”. Obama on 60 Minutes 11/30. The reappointment of Robert Gates at Defense, perhaps only for the first year, along with Hilary Clinton at State, General James Jones as National Security Advisor has been called a “war cabinet” by some. Dreyfus – Democracy Now 12/1. Will Obama seamlessly continue the Bush Doctrine? He has called during the campaign for 20 to 30,000 more boots on the ground in Afghanistan, for an expansion of the Army and Marine Corps by 90,000, and suggested we could strike at Al Qaeda targets inside Pakistan at will.

Given the power of the military industrial complex, perhaps the Gates appointment is as far as Obama dares go in confronting the powers that be at the very start of his term. Obama may find he is pressured to slow down any change militarily. Nevertheless, by sending another 20,000 troops to Afghanistan he could inherit Bush's failed war and make it his own failure. General Jones has recently stated: “Make no mistake, NATO is not winning in Afghanistan”.

Despite their reputation as veteran cold warriors, Jones and Gates have shown some independence from Bush policies: A year ago, to studied silence from the Bush White House, Robert Gates began a series of speeches about the limits of military power in wars in which no military victory is possible. In a similar vein, General Jones has emphasized reconstruction projects and infrastructure projects in Afghanistan rather than merely a military strategy. NY Times12/1/08.

EXPERIENCING HILLARY CLINTON
During the campaign, Obama asked about Clinton's qualifications: “What exactly is this foreign experience? I know she talks about visiting 80 countries. It is not clear was she negotiating treaties or agreements, or was she handling crises during this period of time? My sense is the answer is no”. Obama speaking to reporters 3/5/08. The nomination of Clinton to the chief foreign policy position in the Obama cabinet contradicts this. In response to a reporter's question, Obama replied: “This is fun for the press to stir up whatever quotes were generated during the course of the campaign”. 12/1/08 NY Times. Does he think campaign quotes are not significant? People voted for him based upon what he said.

RECYCLE FOR CHANGE
Responding to criticism that “there's a recycling of people from the Clinton Administration”, Obama responded as he introduced his Economic Team that “they combine experience with fresh thinking”. Obama news conference 11/26 – Chicago. Nevertheless, “the vision for change comes first and foremost: it comes from me”.

In his introduction of 80-year old Paul Volker as a member of his Economic Recovery Advisory Board, he stated that: “Paul had served both Republicans and Democrats and is held in high esteem for his sound and independent judgment”.Paul Volker hasn't been in Washington for some time, and that's part of the reason he can provide a fresh perspective.” NY Times 11/27/08.

A PLAN FOR MAIN STREET AND WALL STREET?
In his first press conference Nov. 7th as president-elect, Barack Obama introduced his Transitional Economic Advisory Board and other economic advisers They consisted of big business and finance executives, Wall Street heavy-weights, and Clinton era retreads, with not one from Main Street despite Obama's promise: "We cannot only have a plan for Wall Street. We must also help Main Street" Coral Gable Florida – 9/18/08.

Economic Advisory Board members:

• William Daley: Secy of Commerce (19997-2000), now Midwest chairman of JPMorgan Chase
• Laura Tyson: Chairman of the President's Council of Economic Advisers, 1993-1995).
• Robert Rubin: Secretary of the Treasury (1995-99), now chairman and director of the Executive Committee at Citigroup
• Robert Reich: Secretary of Labor (1993-97)
• Lawrence Summers, Secretary of Treasury (1999-2001), former Goldman Sachs Consultant who directed the replacement of Glass-Siegel with the Financial Services Modernization Act, and consequent introduction of the predatory practices that put us in our present pickle. Dismissed as President of Harvard in 2006 after receiving a vote of no-confidence from the faculty for remarks about inferiority of women in math and science.
• Paul Volker: Chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank during Reagan years of deregulation (1979-87).
• Timothy Geithner, president of Federal Reserve Bank of New York, formerly a Kissinger Associate.
• Warren Buffett, Chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, a major philanthropist and believer in investing in America. Currently the largest single investor in Wells Fargo, and has substantial holdings in General Electric and Goldman Sachs.
• Anne Mulcahy, Chairman and CEO of Xerox
• Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google.
• Richard Parsons, Chairman of the Board of Time Warner.
• Penny Pritzker, Heiress to billions, Chair of Obama Campaign Finance, CEO of Classic Residence by Hyatt:

While the panel had the obligatory gender and racial diversity - two black men, two Hispanics and four women - there was not even a semblance of class diversity, nor a single individual representing organized labor, homeowners, nor women’s organizations. wsw.org 11/08/08
From Internal Harmony to Rivals at His Side – That's Real Change!
The Bush administration was well-known for the high value the president placed on consent and internal harmony . . but the newly elected U.S. president from Illinois said all along he wasn't looking for a team of allies. Historian Doris Kearns Goodwin's book "Team of Rivals", currently Obama's favorite reading, explains how Lincoln placed his former competitors in the Cabinet: "These are the most able men in the country . . I'm going to need them by my side." "It takes a leader who has self-confidence to surround himself with people more experienced than he is; to bring dissent into his inner circle," Kearns says, "But the country was in peril, and Lincoln said he wanted the strongest and most able men in the country." Chicago Tribune 11/15/08

IS OBAMA’S IRAQ TIMETABLE DEAD BEFORE IT STARTS?
From its earliest stages the Obama campaign made a timetable for Iraq’s pullout a top priority promise. Obama had initially spoken of a 16-month timetable for removing all combat troops from Iraq, but later predicated that upon assessments from military commanders. Now it seems the senior commanders are going to tell Obama that his 16-month timetable is “physically impossible.” and US Ambassador Ryan Crocker predicts no significant changes when Obama takes over. One Iraqi official explained that: “most of Obama’s speeches were only for campaigning.” AntiWar.com 11/07/08. Should the Cabinet and Parliament approve the Status of forces Agreement, US troops will be there 36 months or longer and Obama will have been pre-empted.

EVERBODYS GOT HOPE
June 4, 2008: Obama speech to AIPAC (American/Israeli PAC): “As President, I will work to help Israel achieve the goal of two states, a Jewish state of Israel and a Palestinian state, living side by side in peace and security. ...Jerusalem will remain the capital of Israel and it must remain undivided," New York Observer
During Obama's July visit to the Middle East he told Palestinian Leader Abbas that he “supports the rights of the Palestinians to East Jerusalem” but asked that they keep his remarks secret. Abbas told the press this was “the best thing ever heard from an American presidential candidate”. Al-Akhbar, Cairo

In an interview with Ma'ariv-Tel Aviv, Emanuel's father, Dr. Benjamin Emanuel (member of the Irgun terrorist group in the 1940s) said he was convinced that his son's appointment as Obama's Chief of Staff would be good for Israel. "Obviously he will influence the president to be pro-Israel.. why wouldn't he? What is he, an Arab? He's not going to clean the floors of the White House." His son later apologized for these remarks.

OBAMA'S INTELLIGENCE ADVISORS HELPED PREPARE THE WAY FOR INVASION OF IRAQ, TORTURE

Obama has picked John Brennan and Jami Miscik to help him evaluate the intelligence agencies he will be inheriting. They have a dubious history in this arena according to Melvin Goodman, former CIA and State Department analyst: “Brennan was one of George Tenet's chief assistants during the run-up to the Iraq War when they passed judgment on torture, abuse, extraordinary renditions, black sites, and secret prisons. He was part of that decision making." Democracy Now 11/18/08. In December of 2005, NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, Brennan described extraordinary rendition as "an absolutely vital tool. " Jami Miscik was the CIA Deputy Director of Intelligence who helped draft the UN speech given by Colin Powell in Feb. 2003 justifying the Iraq invasion based upon fabricated evidence of WMDs. Democracy Now 11/17/08
 
INDEFINITE DETENTION FOR LACK OF CONVICTION?
As a presidential candidate, Senator Barack Obama said he would close the detention center at Guantánamo Bay, try detainees in American courts and rejected the Bush administration’s military commission system. Now, his pledge is bringing to the fore thorny questions: What if some detainees cannot be prosecuted at all because of a lack of evidence provable in court, or where they were not warned about self-incrimination, or where confessions were obtained by water boarding?

What about preventive detention of terrorism suspects deemed too dangerous to release even if they cannot be successfully prosecuted? The international law of warfare provides authority for governments to hold captured enemy fighters until the completion of a conflict, as in WW II. But since the Bush administration has already invoked that authority, any move by Mr. Obama to request a new authorization for indefinite detention without trial could be seen as a betrayal of his promises. In the end, the Obama administration may conclude that it is simply not feasible to seek some new authorization. Then, Obama would have to choose between relying upon procedures used by President Bush, or falling back upon our Constitutional belief that one is innocent until proven guilty. NY Times 11/15/08