Joe is and will be VERY busy!

[elleng]

'Senior administration officials described their approach to Pakistan -- as a major U.S. partner under serious threat of internal collapse -- as fundamentally different from the Bush administration's focus on the country as a Taliban and al-Qaeda "platform" for attacks in Afghanistan and beyond. But the officials acknowledged that a comprehensive Pakistan policy will take time and money. The administration will seek early congressional action on a "rebalanced" assistance program -- introduced in the Senate last summer by then-Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. and co-sponsored by then-Sen. Obama -- that will triple economic aid and condition military assistance with benchmarks for progress in combating extremists.

The president will get little pushback on his broad goals from the military or civilian leaders. A newly completed review by the Joint Chiefs of Staff echoes his call for a broader approach to the region and better-defined objectives in Afghanistan. "We need a comprehensive strategy, not just the military side," Adm. Michael Mullen, the Joint Chiefs chairman, said in an interview Monday. "What has to be different is how we approach the future."'>>>

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/03/AR2009020302858.html?wprss=rss_world%2Fasia

[Muttocracy]

1. good! nt

[jillan]

2. I heard on the news today that things along the Pakistan/Afghanistan border

are in turmoil, so I'm glad that Biden will have some say in what to do over there.

[jillan]

3. I don't know if you guys are interested in foreign affairs - but if you are -

I don't think this is a good thing -

The leader representing Iran in Munich is refusing to talk with Biden:

http://www.cnsnews.com/public/content/article.aspx?RsrcID=42900

There are several articles in googleland about this.


This one is from Germany -

http://www.metimes.com/Security/2009/02/04/analysis_all_eyes_on_joe_biden_in_munich/e6ae/

"Biden will be the star"

[Muttocracy]

4. Iran may be blustering; didn't they send people to meet with William Burns last year? nt

[jillan]

5. I don't know but this guy who is going to be in Munich has something to do with nukes over there.

And they just launched that missle.

This is really going to be an important meeting for Biden in Munich. It will be interesting to see how all the other foreign leaders respond to him.

[Jennicut]

6. Very interesting. We will see how long Iran keeps this up.

Joe will have lots of leaders coming to him with their problems:

"Bosnian Muslim leader, Haris Silajdzic, who opposes compromise and agreement among three ethnic communities, plans to talk to the US Vice President Joe Biden in Munich during a Security Conference so that Biden can break the agreement Croat, Muslim and Serb leaders made in Prud on reforming Bosnia.

Silajdzic plans to appeal on his old friendship when Biden who advised Bill Clinton to bomb Serbs.

Silajdzic will lead a broad coalition of Muslims who oppose compromise agreements and want to impose their vision on other ethnic communities in Bosnia."
http://www.serbianna.com/blogs/newspost/?p=1439

[jillan]

7. Now that is really interesting.

It was Joe who pushed for that very thing in Bosnia.
He is really going to have his hands full, but no doubt, he will handle it.
I just hope Obama has given him some instruction on how he wants Joe to handle all of this since Joe is going as Obama's VP and not as the chair of the SFRC. That could put Joe in a weird spot if Obama hasn't laid it out for him. He probably wants to handle it his own way, but now has to be the voice of someone else.
I wonder why Obama isn't going? That is probably the person most of these leaders want to speak with anyway.
Petreaus is going with Biden.

[Jennicut]

8. Obama is too busy with the economy I guess. Joe has more experience in foreign policy

then Obama does and knows these leaders on a first name basis. I bet Obama and Joe and the rest of the FP team have worked out the goals they want to accomplish in this area. Joe going as VP is really going to be different now, more responsibility.