The Kind of Politics We Voted For

The last week or so of President Obama's activities has been amazing. He gave speeches on missile defense in collaboration with the Russians, nuclear disarmament, and conservative government in Turkey. Today, perusing through my US News & World Report Political Bulletin, I came across the following, detailing the unveiling of his military budget that Secy. of Defense Robert M. Gates has been working on:

Gates Proposes Weapons Programs Cuts Defense Secretary Robert Gates unveiled his Pentagon budget plan yesterday to generally sympathetic coverage. News accounts cast the proposed cuts not as a fiscal step, but rather as an overhaul designed to put in the military in sync with current threats faced by the US. ABC World News calls it "the most sweeping change in military thinking in generations." The CBS Evening News likewise reported Gates "is out to remake the US military." The Los Angeles Times says, "Programs primarily used to fight conventional foes...would get less money." The Hill notes Gates "plans to boost the intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance budget by $2 billion and grow the Special Operations forces by 5 percent." The Washington Post says the budget "highlights Gates's long-stated desire to increase spending on surveillance systems and other relatively low-tech weapons that are best suited for guerrilla or irregular war." The Washington Post also reports that "Gates sees this year as a rare opportunity to pursue politically controversial ideas."
CNBC's Hampton Pearson described the budget as "a $534 billion blueprint full of new priorities and a fundamental change in how the Pentagon plans to do business. For example, Northrop Grumman and Raytheon could gain from plans to buy 50 more of those Predator drones. The 2010 budget for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is nearly doubled from $6.8 to $11.2 billion to buy 16 more planes. But Lockheed Martin will also see an end to F-22 production. ... The army's Future Combat Systems program will be restructured. National missile defense is also getting a makeover. Both were profitable Boeing contracts." CNBC's Larry Kudlow noted that the budget "led to a big, almost 4% gain in defense stocks. Northrop Grumman up 9%., Lockheed Martin up 9%, Raytheon 8% and General Dynamics 7%." The Financial Times reports that "analysts said investors saw the news as positive because it had put an end to months of uncertainty." The Wall Street Journal reports, "Gates's plans have clear international implications. His decision to increase spending on the F-35, which involves European nations and defense companies...secures the program's future and will help keep costs in check for such allies as the UK and the Netherlands."
The Financial Times, however, notes that "within hours" of Gates' press conference, "politicians raised questions about his proposed cuts and reform plans. ... In a YouTube video recorded in Afghanistan, James Inhofe, an Oklahoma Republican senator, lambasted President Barack Obama for 'disarming America' and vowed to fight the cuts." The AP reports Rep. John Murtha, chairman of the House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee, called the plan "important and overdue." The Hill reports Sen. Joe Lieberman "panned the Obama administration's proposal to cut the nation's missile defense shield."
NBC Nightly News notes Gates "would also scrap plans to build a new fleet of helicopters for the President -- as the President himself has suggested." The Hill reports Gates "acknowledged that there needs to be a new presidential helicopter, but said that the current Marine One still has some life in it."

The chief reason I voted for the President is because of his approach to international relations. I may not agree with his economic policies -- aside from his tough talk on General Motors (for more info google my big brother's NYT articles from the last week) -- or his decision to stand by his bloated 2010 budget, and I don't think he did that well at the G20 Summit because he didn't win consensus on spending money to get out of the financial crisis...but I have been really captured by his foreign policy and some of his ideas on how to engage both Europe and the Middle East. Yesterday he gave a speech in Ankara, Turkey that is summarized thusly:

"I also want to be clear that America's relationship with the Muslim community, the Muslim world, cannot, and will not, just be based upon opposition to terrorism. We seek broader engagement based on mutual interest and mutual respect. We will listen carefully, we will bridge misunderstandings, and we will seek common ground. We will be respectful, even when we do not agree. We will convey our deep appreciation for the Islamic faith, which has done so much over the centuries to shape the world - including in my own country. The United States has been enriched by Muslim Americans. Many other Americans have Muslims in their families or have lived in a Muslim-majority country - I know, because I am one of them."

For a Muslim country to want to join the EU, amidst a struggle with another religious minority, the Armenians, and to get backing from an American President that has to simultaneously stand between Israel and the rest of the Middle East, this is remarkable.
Currently, I am reading Thomas Friedman's first book, "From Beirut to Jerusalem," and the most striking thing about the Middle East, is that underneath all the fighting and protest, is clamoring for secular government that doesn't have to answer to anybody, and Obama wants to give it to them by putting out his hand to anyone that asks.