BARACK OBAMA WILL PERSONALLY TRACK DOWN OSAMA BIN LADEN AND KILL HIM WITH HIS BARE HANDS. Not really, but that's the impression you get from the glowing coverage of Obama's speech today. It was, indeed, very good and there's a good chance it will be remembered as the moment he finally dispelled worries about his foreign policy experience. Substantively, it contains pretty much everything you could ask for -- withdrawal from Iraq, non-proliferation, greater involvement in Afghanistan and so on. The most ballyhooed part is the suggestion that Obama might invade tribal areas just across the border from Afghanistan in Pakistan to root out Al Qaeda and even use US troops. Is this a good idea? I don't know, but the most likely criticism--that it would destabilize Musharraf--is likely not helpful because, the way things are going in Pakistan, we have no idea what the balance of power will be in 2009 or even who will be running the country. Ezra wonders whether we'd be able to convince Musharraf to cooperate, but the speech includes this line: "If we have actionable intelligence about high-value terrorist targets and President Musharraf won't act, we will," indicating that Obama wouldn't be relying on Pakistani help.
Politically, this is quite a coup. ABC called it "bold," the AP headlined its coverage "Obama Vows to Hunt Down Terrorists" and Reuters went with "Obama talks tough." The speech shows that Obama is capable of telling a powerful and all-encompassing story about his vision of foreign policy--something few other candidates can say. It's also a giant "who you calling Naive?" aimed at the Clinton campaign. How she'll respond remains to be seen.
--Sam Boyd
