U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama shakes hands with the Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, July 21, 2008. (AP/Iraqi Government)
Barack Obama’s big caravan across the world’s toughest region moves on today, from Afghanistan and Iraq into Jordan and Israel.
He’s played hoops with US troops in Kuwait, broken bread with heads of state in Kabul and Baghdad, and wrestled over policy and pullout with US commanders in Iraq.
John McCain, looking on from home yesterday, said Obama’s got it all wrong. But what if the American people decide otherwise? Decide for an Obama path? What would his real options be, from Jerusalem to Jalalabad?
This hour, On Point: Obama’s study abroad, and the options he’s surveying.
-Tom Ashbrook
* * *
Guests:
Ned Parker, Baghdad correspondent for the Los Angeles Times, he has reported from Iraq since 2003.
Zbigniew Brzezinski, served as President Jimmy Carter’s national security advisor from 1977 to 1981, now a trustee of the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He’s author of “Second Chance: Three Presidents and the Crisis of American Superpower” (2007).
Lawrence Wilkerson, retired U.S. Army colonel, he was chief of staff for Secretary of State Colin Powell from 2002 to 2005. He teaches national security at William and Mary College.
Marwan Muasher, former foreign minister of Jordan and former Jordanian ambassador to the United States. He was first Jordanian ambassador to the State of Israel after the 1994 peace treaty. His new book is “The Arab Center: The Promise of Moderation.” You can read the introduction here (pdf).
Tags: 2008 election, Afghanistan, Barack Obama, foreign policy, Iraq, Middle East
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