Egyptian President Hosid Mubarak’s spokesperson Ambassador Soliman Awaad defended the detainment of 3 Egyptian bloggers. One performed acts of violence while the other two established websites attacking Islam and Christianity, a move that Awaad claims could result in sectarian violence.

“This is the only red-line in regard to bloggers: do not fan sectarian strife,” said Awaad. “We don’t want Egypt to suffer from many cases of sectarian strife, be it tribal or religious.” (0:34)

 

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President Clinton:
Former President Clinton will meet with President Obama and NSC/State department staff on the situation in North Korea and his talk with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.
The White House will release a still photo from the meeting. President Clinton has had previous meetings with the NSC staff but not with President Obama. Asked if President Clinton would give remarks to the press at the stake out, Gibbs replied that he does not control who comes to the stake out anymore. President Obama has spoken with President Clinton only one time about North Korea which was when the two women landed in the United States on August 5, 2009. (more…)

Liz Cheney, daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs during the Bush administration, told Talk Radio News that she believes Obama pursued global interests at the expense of U.S. interests during his recent trip abroad (0:18)

 

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By Courtney Ann Jackson- Talk Radio News Service

While President Obama is scheduled to travel next week to Egypt, Germany and France, his administration has not found its foreign policy footing, according to analysts at the Heritage Foundation.

“This trip next week is going to be watched very closely all over Europe, all across the world,” said Nile Gardner, director of the Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom at the Heritage Foundation, “Every statement he makes will be scrutinized very carefully to see whether he is seeking to further atone for America’s past, which I think would be disastrous for the President to do so. The fact is that President Obama is increasingly being viewed as a soft touch on the world stage.”

On the President’s last visit to Europe he discussed American arrogance and Gardner believes it was a “huge strategic error in judgment” for him to “condemn his own country on foreign soil.”

On this tour, Obama is expected to give a speech on foreign policy while in Egypt but James Phillips, senior research fellow of Middle Eastern Affairs at the Heritage Foundation, believes the focus should be on a comparison between the people’s future defined by the Islamists and a future defined by freedom.

The consensus of the analysts was that the worst thing Obama could do on his visit is to succumb to the idea of incessantly apologizing for America’s past and issues like what the Bush administration dubbed the “War on Terror” and instead step up to the challenges boldly.

Gardner said he believes the President “needs to toughen his act on the international stage, project strong international leadership, and stand up to both the threat of a nuclear armed Iran as well as a nuclear armed North Korea.” He added that this is the time for strong U.S. leadership.

By Michael Ruhl, University of New Mexico – Talk Radio News Service

America must invest more time, money, and human resources to help those displaced by the ongoing Iraq War, according to human rights advocates from the Washington, D.C.-based Refugees International.

The presence of 2.6 million displaced Iraqis persons is overwhelming to neighboring Middle East countries and is “undermining” to the social fabric of Iraq, said Ken Bacon, President of Refugees International, at a speech made today at the National Press Club.

President Barack Obama talked about displacement with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki during his surprise visit to Iraq on Tuesday.

Bacon is happy at what is being seen as a distinct change from the “little attention” that the Bush Administration paid to Iraqi displacement.

It is estimated that since the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, 2.6 million Iraqi’s have lost their homes and have fled other parts of the country. An additional 2 million have fled to neighboring countries, including Syria, Jordan and Egypt.

Bacon said that greater American and international support in receiving refugees and providing financial-aid can help stop the crisis.

Displacement of that many people “affects the whole region”, said Bacon, which results in educated citizens and specialized workers fleeing the country.

There are only 18,000 practicing doctors in Iraq, down from 32,000 doctors in 2002. There are more Iraqi doctors in Jordan than in Iraq’s capitol city of Baghdad, Bacon said.

Last year Democratic Senators Robert Casey (PA) and Benjamin Cardin (MD) introduced a bill to increase aid to Iraqi refugees and allow more of them to enter the United States. Since the FY2010 Budget has been approved by Congress, any appropriated funds to help Iraqi citizens would have to come through additional legislation, Bacon said.

A spokesman for Senator Cardin said it has not been decided yet if similar legislation would be introduced in this Congress.

Refugee International’s Field Report on the Iraqi refugee situation said that the Iraqi government is trying to keep more of its citizens from fleeing their homeland. It is feared by the Iraqi government that the existence of so many refugees tarnishes the image of overall security within the country.

The report also said Iraq violated international refugee laws in 2007 by asking Syria not to accept any more Iraqi refugees.

Many refugees have fears of returning home, the report says, because many of those that returned already have been killed.

Kristele Younes, an advocate with Refugees International, says that security is a major issue in Iraqi neighborhoods, with each little borough acting as its own walled off “fiefdom”.

Younes said that the United Nations is trying to place a tourniquet on the flow of persons out of the country by the end of the year, but significant challenges remain in Iraq, including budgetary shortcomings due to low oil prices, corruption within the government and sectarianism.

The Refugees International’s report on Iraq can be found here.

by Christina Lovato, University of New Mexico-Talk Radio News Service

“If the United States is able to set a new tone in context with the
relationship in Afghanistan and elsewhere I think in of that
itself will change the nuclear calculations of Iran’s leadership.”
said Karim Sadjadpour, an associate at the Carnegie Endowment for
International Peace.

In a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing titled “Iranian
Political and Nuclear Realities and U.S. Policy Options” witnesses
gave their recommendations on how the U.S. should approach Iran
concerning nuclear production. The hearing comes after a report
released by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) stating that
Natanz, an Iranian nuclear plant, has gained enough reactor-grade
uranium to allow Iran to create an atomic bomb.

Sadjapour focused on three key options that he thinks the U.S. should
follow. The first being to commence the dialogue with Iran by aiming
to build confidence on areas of common interest such as Afghanistan
and Iraq rather than the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the nuclear
issue. “Focus on Supreme leader in Iran, Khamenei not the President,
Ahmadinejad. If I had to describe him (Ahmadinejad) in one word, is
mistrustful…He believes that if you compromise you project
weakness.” he said. Sadjapour also stated that it is imperative that
the U.S. maintain an airtight international approach saying that each
country should approach Iran with the same talking points.

Former U.S. Ambassador to Zambia and Egypt, Frank Wisner, said that Iran
is important, Iran is dangerous and Iran is urgent. “I do not believe
in the military option…there is no room for a military
response…the issues of national survival that are first and foremost
on Iran’s mind gives me some hope that we can get traction if we chose
to engage and engage fully but I won’t pretend for a moment that
dealing with Iranians will not be extremely tough. There will be many
setbacks and many deceptions…I personally welcome as I’m certain all
of us do, an appointment of a new special representative to take a
hard look at Iran and our foreign policies.” he concluded.

Secretary James Peak of the Veterans Affairs Administration briefed reporters today on the issue of smoking cessation. Specifically, Peak mentioned the Pfizer drug Chantix which is supposed to help patients quit smoking. According to the non profit organization the Institute for Safe Medicine Practices nearly 3,000 serious health effects including suicides, heart trouble and aggression, the study said. (more…)

At a hearing on Diplomatic Assurances, Senator William D. Delahunt (D-Mass.) puts legal adviser to the Secretary of State John Bellinger in his place when Bellinger supported the practice of not divulging information about diplomatic assurances to members of Congress, particularly to the House Foreign Affairs committee. (1:14)

 

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At a hearing on Diplomatic Assurances, John Bellinger, legal advisor to the Secretary of State, says only one person was returned to Egypt but Senator William D. Delahunt (D-Mass.) contradicts by saying it was 70 people. (0:43)

 

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At a news conference held in the Capitol, Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) says we have too look at other options [in dealing with the food crisis]. One, to permanently increase crop yields so that nations can feed themselves. Second, to reduce the costs of overseas food networks, so that more of the food that is donated will feed the hungry instead of spoiling in warehouses. (0:32)

 

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