Obama needs a quick refresher course in Cold War history

[GaryC 7]

Obama needs a quick refresher course in Cold War history

BY K.T. McFARLAND

Wednesday, May 21st 2008, 4:00 AM

Recently, Sen. Barack Obama reiterated his pledge to meet with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran, among other rogue leaders, without preconditions, suggesting his approach would be consistent with the best, and strongest, American foreign policy of the past century.

"Strong countries and strong Presidents talk to their adversaries," said Obama. "That's what Kennedy did with Khrushchev. That's what Reagan did with Gorbachev. That's what Nixon did with Mao."

Not so fast. I was in both the Nixon and Reagan administrations, and I can attest that those Presidents understood the danger of prematurely forcing top-level meetings without sufficient preconditions. Neither Richard Nixon nor Ronald Reagan would sit down for face-to-face meetings with their counterparts in enemy nations until America hadsome realistic - and playable - bargaining chips. They recognized that negotiating without leverage isn't negotiating, it's begging.

Nixon and his brilliant national security adviser Henry Kissinger knew that to end the Vietnam War, they would have to cut off North Vietnam's supply chain, which came from the Soviet Union through China. What leverage could Nixon get with the Soviets and the Chinese? China needed training and technology to enter the modern world - as well as breathing space from foreign threats in order to modernize its economy. Nixon calculated that, taken together, these were more important to China than fighting a proxy war in Vietnam.

Nixon also recognized the Sino-Soviet Communist alliance was cracking, and we could exploit it by being China's great power counterweight to the Soviet Union. The threat of a loose Sino-American alliance gave us the leverage we needed to get the Soviets to the negotiating table on arms control. Nixon met with Mao Zedong only after he had the leverage needed to negotiate.

Similarly, Reagan waited until his second term to deal with the Soviets. He used the first term to line up the leverage necessary to negotiate from a position of strength. He rebuilt America's defenses, which had atrophied after Vietnam. He reached out to allies in Europe and strengthened our alliances worldwide. He knew the Soviet economy was a sham; the Kremlin was heavily dependent on hard currency from selling oil abroad. So Reagan worked to drive down the international price of oil, which weakened the Soviet economy from within.

And when all those elements had been put in place, Reagan delivered the coup de grace and introduced his Strategic Defense Initiative, the missile defense plan that challenged the Soviets to a nuclear arms race Reagan knew they could neither afford nor win.

Obama said recently that Reagan's negotiations with Gorbachev "led to a series of measures that helped prevent nuclear war, and over time allowed the kind of opening that brought down the Berlin Wall."

He's got it turned around. Reagan built up the leverage first, and then negotiated. He didn't believe we could talk the Soviets into anything they didn't want to do, nor trust them without verification. Reagan was a man of considerable persuasive powers, but he didn't defeat communism and win the Cold War because he was able to charm and cajole Gorbachev during direct negotiations. He won it because by the time he sat down to negotiate, America held all the cards.

I don't disagree that the next President needs to talk to the Iranians. Dealing with them will be an essential step in ending the war in Iraq, stabilizing the Middle East and pressing Iran to dismantle its nuclear program.

The question is who, when and how. We all have the right - indeed, the obligation - to ask exactly what leverage a President Obama would carry with him to the negotiating table, and how he plans to get it.

K.T. McFarland was Henry Kissinger's research assistant on the National Security Counsel staff during the Nixon and Ford administrations, and deputy assistant secretary of defense for public affairs during the Reagan administration.

http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions/2008/0...course_in_.html

[Sheriff Uling 3]

I have challenged you to find an article that writes glowing reviews about Sen. McCain... I'll be standing by...

Edited May 23, 2008 by Sheriff Uling

[Marc and Olga 0]

I have challenged you to find an article that writes glowing reviews about Sen. McCain... I'll be standing by...

I think in Gary's mind if he slams Obama enough everyone will (blindly) flock to McCain.

[Saddle Bronc 124]

I have challenged you to find an article that writes glowing reviews about Sen. McCain... I'll be standing by...

I think in Gary's mind if he slams Obama enough everyone will (blindly) flock to McCain.

Are you sure he won't be satisfied if people simply eschew Oblahma? Mission of getting McLame elected can be achieved by reducing the electorate for Oblahma (and by extension total electorate).

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

I have challenged you to find an article that writes glowing reviews about Sen. McCain... I'll be standing by...

Better pull up a chair and get comfortable.

[Marc and Olga 0]

I have challenged you to find an article that writes glowing reviews about Sen. McCain... I'll be standing by...

I think in Gary's mind if he slams Obama enough everyone will (blindly) flock to McCain.

Are you sure he won't be satisfied if people simply eschew Oblahma? Mission of getting McLame elected can be achieved by reducing the electorate for Oblahma (and by extension total electorate).

Darn my tired brain...that actually makes more sense /smacks self

[HAL 9000 96]

Amazing how 8th grade campaign interpretations equal foreign diplomacy.

[Ilya R. 0]

They cant seriously compare Soviet Union to Iran now?

[GaryC 7]

I love the comments from the Obamabots. Posting stuff like this puts you all in instant defensive mode and it's fun to watch you run around defending him. It's like kicking an ant hill. The next few months are going to be fun.

[HAL 9000 96]

I love the comments from the Obamabots. Posting stuff like this puts you all in instant defensive mode and it's fun to watch you run around defending him. It's like kicking an ant hill. The next few months are going to be fun.

Very true. Its going to be a few months of common sense vs. Gary sense.

[Saddle Bronc 124]

I love the comments from the Obamabots. Posting stuff like this puts you all in instant defensive mode and it's fun to watch you run around defending him. It's like kicking an ant hill. The next few months are going to be fun.

Very true. Its going to be a few months of common sense vs. Gary sense.

Eh, commonsense went out the window when GOP nominated McLame, and Dems started trying to decide between Oblamah and Shilary.

[GALAXY 0]

I have challenged you to find an article that writes glowing reviews about Sen. McCain... I'll be standing by...

hey sheriff dingleberry, how about the 5 years mccain was held in a POW camp during the vietnam war. Does that ring a bell. but i doubt a liberal person like you knows a thing about that, or how much pain and suffering one goes through in a POW camp. let alone the fact that mccain was given the oportunity to leave the camp early but told them no he would let others that have been there longer than him go first.

[eekee 182]

Any connection between reagan and soviets makes me LOL. without falling commodities prices...

[Sheriff Uling 3]

I have challenged you to find an article that writes glowing reviews about Sen. McCain... I'll be standing by...

hey sheriff dingleberry, how about the 5 years mccain was held in a POW camp during the vietnam war. Does that ring a bell. but i doubt a liberal person like you knows a thing about that, or how much pain and suffering one goes through in a POW camp. let alone the fact that mccain was given the oportunity to leave the camp early but told them no he would let others that have been there longer than him go first.

Listen Lady! I'm writting about politics not his service to the country or did you miss that point. Ma'am... And for your information, I'm a conservative. So before you go labeling folks, know your facts!!! And yes, I know that you are a guy. Too bad that your wife's respectful and caring nature has not rubbed off on you. I suggest that you watch the name calling...

Cheers!!!

Sheriff Uling

p.s. - That's Mr. Sheriff Uling to you Sir!

Edited May 25, 2008 by Sheriff Uling

[GALAXY 0]

I have challenged you to find an article that writes glowing reviews about Sen. McCain... I'll be standing by...

hey sheriff dingleberry, how about the 5 years mccain was held in a POW camp during the vietnam war. Does that ring a bell. but i doubt a liberal person like you knows a thing about that, or how much pain and suffering one goes through in a POW camp. let alone the fact that mccain was given the oportunity to leave the camp early but told them no he would let others that have been there longer than him go first.

Listen Lady! I'm writting about politics not his service to the country or did you miss that point. Ma'am... And for your information, I'm a conservative. So before you go labeling folks, know your facts!!!

first of all im not a lady. if you are a conservative then why do you ask for a good story about mccain? you should already know why he is the best canidate. as far as politics are concerned, mccain is doing the right thing by letting the dems fight between themselves, sitting back and waiting for the right time to attack. second if you are a conservative tell me who will you be voting for because neither democrat is conservative. take a look into how bill clinton had a shot on bin laden with a CIA sniper and failed to take it in 96. with one quick shot things could have been a lot different. Obama's biggest quote for running is that he didnt vote to go to iraq. he was not in a seat as a senator yet. do look into the past of both dems and see how they will let terrorist accomplish another attack on the US and not do anything to the terrorist. Facts are facts, republicans will answer back to attacks from terrorist and dems will just send flowers and ask for a sorry letter from the terrorist