NYT: Obama 'voracious' in studying national security issues

[sabra]

http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/12/16/america/policy.php

CHICAGO: He has read "Ghost Wars," a history of the adventure by the Central Intelligence Agency in Afghanistan over decades and its fruitless attempt to capture or kill Osama bin Laden. He has sought out the counsel of an old Republican realist - Brent Scowcroft, the former national security adviser - who has long argued against an ideologically driven foreign policy.

And he has one-upped President George W. Bush's six intelligence briefings a week by demanding seven, prompting Mike McConnell, who handles presidential briefings as the director of national intelligence, to joke that "I don't know if there's some kind of competition going."

As Barack Obama gets ready to assume the presidency Jan. 20, the former junior senator from Illinois has been boning up on the large number of national security issues that await his first day in the Oval Office. The list spans the globe, literally, from the obscure - whether he should break with the Bush administration's pro-Morocco policy in the dispute over independence for Western Sahara - to the familiar - whether his plan to send more troops to Afghanistan is feasible.

...

During an earlier transition period, President John F. Kennedy was meticulous about consulting Dwight Eisenhower about national security issues. During his, Bush sought out Condoleezza Rice and other members of his foreign policy team of "Vulcans" for cramming sessions.

...

But even as he moves to the center, some classic liberalism has also become a part of Obama's study program. Obama, having finished "Ghost Wars," by Steve Coll, is now reading "Common Wealth: Economics for a Crowded Planet," by the economist Jeffrey Sachs. Sachs argues that big governments like that of the United States could successfully tackle global warming, environmental destruction and extreme poverty by refocusing just a small fraction of global income toward those issues.

[babylonsister]

1. This is so heartening to read. A smart, curious president? Pinch me! nt

[blm]

2. Dear PE Obama...read the BCCI Report and CIA drugrunning report and THEN you'll understand more

exactly what type of fascists you're dealing with around the globe and especially, in this country.

[charlie and algernon]

3. i love hearing that

I love having a president who's intellectually curious and who strives to learn always more.

[CTyankee]

4. What? He's studying??? He's actually open to learning something?

Isn't that un-Presidential?

The next RNC talking point will be "Oh that Barack Obama! He's such a show off! He thinks he's better than we are!"

Note to RNC: He is.

[onehandle]

5. Why? Just ignore it for nine months, get "lucky," then become a "hero" overnight. nt

[Frustratedlady]

6. I wonder how long it will take before the hard-nosed Bush lovers see the light?

It will be difficult for them to eat crow, but after suffering through 8 years of Bush, I'd say they deserve it.

Of course, if he does anything right, they will call him uppity.

[Alter Ego]

7. He's curious and eager to learn--something W is not.

And that's good, because he's got a lot to learn.