TUESDAY, AUGUST 24, 2010
KLMNO POLITICS THE NATION & PRESIDENTIAL AGENDA
For Obama, a chance to regain some political momentum Stakes are high
in Iraq transition, Middle East peace
by Michael D. Shear The White House faces a deli-
cate messaging task next week as President Obama seeks to bring one foreign engagement to an end while making a new bid for American influence abroad. Obama’s return to Washington from 10 days in Martha’s Vine- yard and a quick stop in New Or- leans to commemorate the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina will begin with an address to the nation marking the end of com- bat operations in Iraq. Days later, he will preside over the start of a new round of Middle East peace talks in Washington. Both events offer Obama some political opportunities to help end a frustrating summer on a more positive note. But each is fraught with expectations that could prove difficult to meet in the long run, especially as the White House begins planning a reelection campaign next year. And a week-long focus on for- eign policy — timing driven largely by events outside of the president’s control — could seem oddly out of step during an elec- tion season that has been dom- inated by concerns over the na- tional economy. The White House offered a pre-
view of Obama’s Iraq speech on Monday, with Vice President Bi- den’s remarks to the national convention of the Veterans of Foreign Wars. Biden’s mission — as Obama’s will be next week — was to care- fully find a way for the White House to take credit for making good on the president’s promise to bring the war to an end, while avoiding the false “mission ac-
complished” bravado that helped turn the public against former president George W. Bush. “One month after his inaugura-
tion, at Camp Lejeune, President Obama laid out a plan for ending the war in Iraq responsibly, and we have followed it closely ever since,” Biden said. He quickly added: “And one more thing: Drawing down our troops does not mean we are dis- engaging from Iraq. In fact, quite the opposite is true. While our warriors that remain there are as capable as any in our armed ser- vices — they know how to fight if they have to — their mission has changed. They are there now to help the Iraqis help themselves.” White House officials hope the
reality of large-scale disengage- ment will be enough to satisfy the antiwar wing of the Democratic Party, which provided early en- ergy to Obama’s presidential campaign. White House officials are also mindful of the political dangers that a resurgence of violence in Iraq could mean. With 50,000 troops to remain in an advisory capacity beyond the Aug. 31 deadline, a declaration of victory could end up sounding hollow to voters if more U.S. fatalities oc- cur. Anthony H. Cordesman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies warned about future violence in a recent column, saying that “The Iraq War is not over and it is not ‘won.’ In fact, it is at as critical a stage as at any time since 2003.” Biden acknowledged the diffi-
culties Iraqis have had in forming a government, but expressed op- timism that it will happen. “This process can sometimes be frus- trating, and there will be ups and downs, but I am confident that the Iraqis will form a national unity government soon,” Biden said. Just as with Iraq, the Middle East peace process is full of po-
DIGEST MINNESOTA
tential and peril for the presi- dent.
Obama took office with sky-
high expectations for a new era of international reconciliation, a hope stoked by the president’s winning of the Nobel Peace Prize, an award based largely on his speechmaking around the globe. Those hopes were dimmed considerably in the Middle East when the administration chose to focus on getting Israel to halt construction of settlements, a de- cision that was met with strong resistance in that country. Pales- tinians also pulled back from ne- gotiations. Now, the act of bringing the
two sides together to take an- other year-long stab at finding peace could provide some mo- mentum.
But as many American presi- dents have discovered, the mo- mentum against peace is decades long and the history that ani- mates both sides dates thousands of years. The ongoing threat of violence as a means of blowing up peace efforts is also clearly present. In a briefing for reporters, counterter- rorism adviser John Brennan said the administration is com- mitted to making sure that ex- tremists on both sides do not pre- vent the peace talks from suc- ceeding. “We are going forward with this with a strong sense that these talks can succeed,” Brennan said. “There is a commitment now by the Israelis to participate in it. We’re hoping that the Palestin- ians are going to agree shortly to participate as well. And so what we need to do is to make sure that all sides remain committed for these talks over the next year.” Next week, expect Obama to
say the same thing. And then to wade cautiously into a process that carries political and diplo- matic risks.
shearm@washpost.com
Firm settles in deadly collapse of bridge After enduring countless sur-
geries and hours of court hear- ings, victims of the deadly 2007 Minneapolis Interstate 35W bridge collapse reached the end of their legal fight after an engi- neering firm agreed to pay $52.4million to settle scores of lawsuits. The settlement by San Francis- co-based URS Corp. — agreed to more than a week ago but kept quiet until Monday — resolves the last major piece of litigation by victims. All told, the state and two of its contractors will have paid out $100 million to the fami- lies of the 13 people who died and the 145 people who were injured when the Mississippi River bridge broke apart. URS had argued that its engi- neers didn’t know about a design flaw in the bridge that made it vulnerable. The company said in a statement that the settlement was necessary to avoid protract- ed litigation and said it admitted no fault. Survivors said they were looking forward to getting on with their lives.
— Associated Press NEW MEXICO
2 fugitives, woman charged in deaths
Two escaped convicts from Ari- zona and a woman who accompa- nied them were charged with murder and carjacking Monday in the deaths of an Oklahoma couple who authorities said were targeted because of their camp- ing trailer. Federal prosecutors in New
Mexico filed murder and car- jacking charges against John McCluskey, 45; Tracy Province, 42; and their alleged accomplice, Casslyn Welch, 44. They are ac- cused in the deaths of Gary and Linda Haas of Tecumseh, Okla. Authorities said the fugitives saw the couple at a rest area
along Interstate 40 in eastern New Mexico on Aug. 2, three days after the men escaped from the Arizona State Prison in Kingman. An arrest warrant says the three were tired of traveling and sleep- ing in a car they stole in Flagstaff, Ariz. Prosecutors say McCluskey shot the couple inside their travel trailer.
— Associated Press
Charges dropped in funeral pro- test: A member of Kansas’s West- boro Baptist Church agreed Mon- day to drop federal lawsuits against Nebraska authorities in exchange for a prosecutor dis- missing charges against her
M. SPENCER GREEN/ASSOCIATED PRESS
An inspector shown on Aug. 5, 2007, climbs over rubble as he examines the Interstate 35W bridge in Minneapolis.
stemming from her 2007 protest outside a soldier’s funeral. Shir- ley Phelps-Roper had been set to face trial in Nebraska’s Sarpy County Court on charges of dis- turbing the peace and negligent child abuse. Prosecutors accused Phelps-Roper of letting her 10- year-old son stand on an Amer- ican flag during a protest outside the funeral of a National Guards- man in Bellevue, an Omaha sub- urb. Members protest at soldiers’ funerals because they believe that U.S. troop deaths are punish- ment for the nation’s tolerance of homosexuality.
— From news services
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