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On First Full Day, Obama Will Dive Into Foreign Policy
The Page by Mark Halperin — ... The President-elect will plunge into foreign policy on his first full day in office. By the end of the week, Obama plans to issue an executive order to eventually shut down the military detention facility at Guantanamo Bay.       ...

Newspaper Roundup for Jan. 20, 2009
CNSNews.com Headlines — ... Unsure Obama will make their needs a priority Washington Post: On First Full Day, Obama Will Dive Into Foreign Policy Houston Chronicle: ...

Obama's first order of business: Turning Israel into Northern Ireland
Israel Matzav — Obama's first order of business: Turning Israel into Northern Ireland [image] The Washington Post reports on Tuesday that with the American and world economies in shambles, the first order of the Obama Hopenchange administration on Wednesday morning will be to go back to the future by appointing former Senator George J. Mitchell as the administration's new ' Special envoy to the Middle East ' (Hat Tip: Memeorandum ). Mitchell, whose mother, Mary Saad was Lebanese, is best remembered in these parts in recent years for his report on the causes of ...

New Dawn Of American Gaga-Eyed Idol Worship
Jules Crittenden — ...  before the pandering excuse-making kicks in. But don’t worry, there’s still is plenty of slack-jawed wonderment to look forward to.  WPost : Unchained of the bonds of tradition, on Day One, he dives into foreign policy. Last Thursday, in an interview with Washington Post editors and reporters, Obama criticized Bush for treating Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan as “discrete” problems. Under his watch, Obama said, policy in that region will be treated as a single, unified one.“One of the principles that we’ll be operating under is that these things are very much related ...

TPMDC Morning Roundup
TPM Election Central — ... The Washington Post reports that Barack Obama will dive headlong into foreign policy on his first full day in office tomorrow, no longer having to honor the convention of a president-elect not interfering with a lame-duck president's authority. Among other things, Obama will appoint George Mitchell as his envoy to the Middle East, will convene a meeting of the National Security Council, and by the end of the week will issue his executive order to begin the process of closing the Guantanamo Bay prison camp. ...

Hugh Hewitt: Al Qaeda and the Plague
Townhall.com Blog's TownHall Blog — ... McCullough | Matt Lewis | Radio Blogger | Your Blogs Directory [image] Townhall.com The Blogspot for Political, Conservative and Republican Blogs and Bloggers Tuesday, January 20, 2009 Al Qaeda and the Plague Posted by: Hugh Hewitt at 9:37 AM Sorry to interrupt the Inaugural festivities, but Eli Lake's article in the Washington Times on al Qaeda's experiments with the bubonic plague should not be missed. The Washington Post reports that the new president will throw himself into foreign policy ...

Hugh Hewitt: Al Qaeda and the Plague
Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog — Tuesday, January 20, 2009 Al Qaeda and the Plague Posted by: Hugh Hewitt at 9:37 AM Sorry to interrupt the Inaugural festivities, but Eli Lake's article in the Washington Times on al Qaeda's experiments with the bubonic plague should not be missed. The Washington Post reports that the new president will throw himself into foreign policy tomorrow . No doubt the WMD ambitions of the jihadists will be at the top of whatever list he tackles --or should be. Email It | Print It [image] Tuesday, January 20, 2009 The Opening ...

Dodged A Bullet
The Agonist - thoughtful, global, timely — Boy, did we dodge a bullet with this appointment: George Mitchell, former Senator from Maine (D) will be Obama's Middle East envoy. No Dennis Ross. Man, this one is huge. I like Mitchell for this role. "He did," as someone on a listserve I belong to said, "good work in Northern Ireland." From The WaPo: As one of his first actions, Obama plans to name former senator George J. Mitchell (D-Maine) as his Middle East envoy, aides said, sending a signal that the new administration intends to move quickly to engage warring Israelis and Palestinians in ...

First Moves
Newshoggers.com — ... the United States. The motion called for "a continuance of the proceedings" until May 20 so that "the newly inaugurated president and his administration [can] review the military commissions process, generally, and the cases currently pending before military commissions, specifically." The same motion was filed in another case scheduled to resume Wednesday, involving a Canadian detainee, and will be filed in all other pending matters. And then there is this news. As one of his first actions, Obama plans to name former senator ...

Will George Mitchell Change U.S.-Israel Ties?
Pajamas Media — ... Former Sen. George Mitchell has been chosen as President Barack Obama’s Middle East envoy. What are the pros and cons of Mitchell serving in such a role? Mitchell does have diplomatic experience beyond that of the typical senator. After leaving the Senate, he served as a special envoy to Northern Ireland and helped to bring about a peace agreement among Protestants, Catholics, the government of Ireland, and the United Kingdom. His work was highly praised and, in the words of the Washington Post , he is considered “smart, tough and very patient, attributes that will no doubt ...