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Building a Strong Progressive National Security and Countering Conservative Spin


Afghanistan

Getting the Afghanistan Strategy Right In the Face of Continual Far Right Bombast

Report 20 November 2009
In a surprise visit to Kabul this week, Secretary of State Clinton attended Hamid Karzai’s Presidential inauguration. During the visit, she urged the Afghan government to both reform itself and to stamp out corruption. In particular, she stressed that Karzai had a limited window to “make a new compact with the people of Afghanistan.” Clinton’s message underscored a basic point that progressives have been making for months – that without a political and diplomatic strategy that urges Afghans to step up, no plan for Afghanistan can succeed.
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China

Handling China’s Rise

Report 19 November 2009
The rise of China is undoubtedly one of the most critical strategic developments of the 21st century. While it may not rival Afghanistan or Iran in terms of immediate media salience, the President’s first visit to China has clearly demonstrated both the importance of this rising power and how the Obama administration relates to it. With subdued atmopherics as backdrop, the Obama team has effectively worked for the past 10 months to advance our interests in a positive manner with China across several fronts, including through the first ever U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue, which was convened this past July in Washington. The Administration can point to several major accomplishments on energy and climate change, the global economy and trade, and nonproliferation and international security.
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Terrorism

Conservatives Terrified of Bringing Terrorists to Justice

Report 18 November 2009
A comprehensive strategy and architecture to bring terrorists to justice should be a source of national pride – not fear-mongering. Whether it’s making inane assertions that terrorists will kidnap Mayor Bloomberg’s daughter, or claiming that Illinois will become ground zero for terrorist attacks and jihad recruitment, conservatives are simply unhinged when it comes to combating terror. But while they demonize our judicial system and lambast the ability of the men and women of our prison and law enforcement systems to keep our communities safe, they neglect the fact that trying terrorists in civilian courts—and following the rule of law—is one of our best strategies for combating violent extremism. Pursuing this takes critical recruitment tools away from the terrorists, brings us allies and partners around the world, and underscores the foundations of our democracy that separates America from its enemies. This was best summed up by 9/11 widow Kristen Breitweiser, who said: “To be clear, the only danger posed by prosecuting men like KSM in an open court in New York is the red alert it poses to the Republican Party's faltering reputation in fighting their ‘war on terror.’”
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