NATIONAL SECURITY
On The Path To Sustainable Security

Yesterday, President-elect Barack Obama announced his national security team, naming Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) as Secretary of State, retired Gen. James Jones as National Security Adviser, Robert Gates as Defense Secretary, and Susan Rice as U.N. Ambassador. The nominations signaled "a sweeping shift of priorities and resources in the national security arena" to create "a greatly expanded corps of diplomats and aid workers that, in the vision of the incoming Obama administration, would be engaged in projects around the world aimed at preventing conflicts and rebuilding failed states," observed the New York Times. An Obama adviser told the Times that Clinton, Jones, and Gates have all embraced "'a rebalancing of America's national security portfolio' after a huge investment in new combat capabilities during the Bush years." The appointments reflect Obama's commitment to seek sustainable security, which ties national security to the economic and political security of people around the world. "[T]he time has come for a new beginning," Obama said. "[W]e must pursue a new strategy that skillfully uses, balances, and integrates all elements of American power: our military and diplomacy; our intelligence and law enforcement; our economy and the power of our moral example."

SUSTAINABLE SECURITY: Yesterday's announcement signaled that the Obama administration will turn decisively away from the Bush model of relying predominantly on military power. As Clinton said when accepting the nomination of Secretary of State, "We know our security, our values, and our interests cannot be protected and advanced by force alone -- nor, indeed, by Americans alone. We must pursue vigorous diplomacy using all the tools we can muster to build a future with more partners and fewer adversaries, more opportunities and fewer dangers for all who seek freedom, peace, and prosperity." The new administration will embrace the goal of sustainable security, a concept "defined by the contours of a world gone global and shaped by our common humanity." Sustainable security calls for a melding of traditional national security with human security (or, the well-being and safety of people) and collective security (or, the shared interests of the entire world). "The pursuit of sustainable security requires more than a reliance on our conventional power to deflect threats to the United States, but also that we maintain the moral authority to lead a global effort to overcome threats to our common security," Center for American Progress Senior Fellow Gayle Smith explains. Reuben Brigety, the Director of the Sustainable Security Project at CAP, said, "In very important ways, the more we actually help other people in other countries improve their livelihoods, to improve their political prospects in their countries, the more secure we make our own country against the sources of terrorism."

REJECTING THE BUSH MODEL: "Because of President Bush's insistence on a militaristic 'war on terror' strategy, the U.S. has not seriously addressed the conditions that facilitate the rise of an ideology like Al Qaeda's," the Wonk Room's Matt Duss writes. Bush has steadfastly refused to engage in diplomacy and dialogue with America's enemies, despite the fact that such an "unreasonable and imperious approach...has always worked to the advantage" of hardliners in Iran and other countries. Iraq, Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib, and extraordinary rendition have destroyed worldwide opinion of America. "We have also lost precious time, and are well behind the curve in our now tardy efforts to tackle the global challenges that are already shaping our future -- climate change, energy insecurity, growing resource scarcity, the proliferation of illegal syndicates moving people, arms, and money...that have been steadfastly ignored" by the Bush administration, Smith writes.

RE-ALLOCATING RESOURCES: Moving toward a sustainable security will require re-allocating resources from the Pentagon to the civilian-based "corps of diplomats" Obama is creating. Gates agrees:  "He has argued that more resources should be devoted to diplomacy and has warned about the creeping militarization of U.S. foreign policy." Speaking last July, Gates said, "Our diplomatic leaders -- be they in ambassadors' suites or on the seventh floor of the State Department -- must have the resources and political support needed to fully exercise their statutory responsibilities in leading American foreign policy." Gates shares Clinton and Obama's dedication to a new, sustainable security, understanding that America cannot simply "kill or capture our way to victory" over the long term, as he explained in July.  "Broadly speaking, when it comes to America's engagement with the rest of the world, it is important that the military is -- and is clearly seen to be -- in a supporting role to civilian agencies," he said. In fact, a senior Pentagon advisory board recently warned the President-elect that the Defense Department's budget is "not sustainable" and said he "must scale back or eliminate some of the military's most prized weapons programs." "The current and future fiscal environments facing the department demand bold action," the report said.

Under the Radar

ADMINISTRATION -- BUSH STRIPS COLLECTIVE BARGAINING RIGHTS FROM FEDERAL EMPLOYEES: Yesterday, President Bush issued an executive order "that denies collective bargaining rights to about 8,600 federal employees who work in law enforcement, intelligence and other agencies responsible for national security," the New York Times reports today. Nine hundred of the employees affected were already represented by collective bargaining units. Colleen Kelley, president of the National Treasury Employees Union, said that employees "had their collective bargaining rights stripped away for no justifiable reason." The executive order is just one of Bush's many last-minute regulations, orders, and proposed rule changes, many of which reduce the power of organized labor. New rules make it harder for employees to take time off, require labor unions to file extensive financial reports, and make it harder to regulate toxic substances on the job. For more on Bush's 11th hour rules, check out The Progress Report's report: "Bush's Backward Sprint To The Finish."

SURVEILLANCE -- ADMINISTRATION DEFENDS RETROACTIVE IMMUNITY FOR TELECOMS IN COURT: Lawyers for the Bush administration will attempt today to "to convince a federal judge to let stand a law granting retroactive legal immunity to the nation's telecommunications firms, which are accused of transmitting Americans' private communications to the National Security Agency without warrants." The court battle centers on "nearly four dozen lawsuits filed by civil liberties groups and class action attorneys against AT&T, Verizon, MCI, Sprint and other carriers who allegedly cooperated with the Bush administration's domestic surveillance program in the years following the Sept. 11 terror attacks," Threat Level explains. Among the groups filing suit is the Electronic Frontier Foundation, which argues that the FISA Amendments Act -- granting retroactive immunity at the discretion of the Attorney General by allowing for "the dismissal of the lawsuits over the telecoms' participation in the warrantless surveillance program" -- is unconstitutional. U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker announced yesterday that he planned to discuss a series of 11 questions during today's hearing, including whether or not there exists "any precedent" for the powers granted to the Attorney General by the FISA Amendments Act. FireDogLake's Marcy Wheeler says that Walker's questions "suggest that Walker is not going to simply roll over and abdicate his Article III function."

MEDIA -- FOX'S CHRIS WALLACE DEFENDS BUSH ON ABUSE OF POWER: Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace defended President Bush yesterday against criticism from filmmaker Ron Howard that Bush had abused the office of the presidency in way similar to President Richard Nixon. "Richard Nixon's crimes were committed purely in the interest of his own political gain," Wallace told Howard before an audience after viewing the filmmaker's new film "Frost/Nixon." "I think to compare what Nixon did, and the abuses of power for pure political self preservation, to George W. Bush trying to protect this country -- even if you disagree with rendition or waterboarding -- it seems to me is both a gross misreading of history both then and now," Wallace said. But Wallace ignores the fact that many of the Bush administration's abuses of power were, in fact, political in nature -- such as the outing of Valerie Plame Wilson and the firing of nine U.S. attorneys. Bush's abuses of power in the name of protecting the country have had disastrous consequences. Bush's torture policies has not only undermined American prestige around the world and violated domestic and international law, but a former Special Operations interrogator recently noted that it "is fair to say" that they have cost the same number of American lives as those lost in the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

Think Fast

President-elect Barack Obama is considering a stimulus package that will include a heavy dose of spending on environmentally friendly projects aimed at creating "green-collar jobs" and saving energy. Read more about the "the economic imperative for clean energy."

An independent and bipartisan congressionally-mandated task force has concluded that the "odds that terrorists will soon strike a major city with weapons of mass destruction are now better than even." The report "singled out Pakistan as a grave concern because of its terrorist networks, history of instability and arsenal of several dozen nuclear warheads."

The four undersecretaries of defense are expected to leave their posts, including Undersecretary for Policy Eric S. Edelman, who may be replaced by CSIS's Michele Flournoy. Edelman, a Cheney protege, made headlines last year saying "premature" discussion of withdrawal from Iraq "reinforces enemy propaganda."

Bush administration lawyers will appear in court at 10 am PST today "to convince a federal judge to let stand a law granting retroactive legal immunity to the nation's telecoms, which are accused of transmitting Americans' private communications to the National Security Agency without warrants."

Elizabeth Warren, the head of a Congressional oversight panel for the bailout, "says the government still does not seem to have a coherent strategy for easing the financial crisis, despite the billions it has already spent in that effort." According to Warren, the government seems "to be lurching from one tactic to the next without clarifying how each step fits into an overall plan." More »

Last night, Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA) accepted an honorary degree from Harvard University. "I have often been called a liberal, and it usually was not meant to be a compliment," he said. "But I remember what my brother said about liberalism shortly before he was elected president. "He said if by a liberal they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people...If that is what they mean by liberal, I am proud to be a liberal," Kennedy said.

Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY) has no plans to relinquish the chairmanship of the House Ways and Means Committee, despite a report last week that "helped retain a multimillion-dollar tax loophole for an oil drilling company at the same time that the company's CEO" was pledging to donate to the Charles B. Rangel Center for Public Service at City College of New York. Rangel denies that there was any quid pro quo.

4,207: The number of U.S. troops who have died in Iraq as of yesterday. U.S. combat casualties in Iraq fell to their lowest level last month.

And finally: In an interview with Vanity Fair, Tina Fey talks about the discomfort of playing Gov. Sarah Palin (R) in Palin's presence. "I just didn't want to have to do the impression at the same time with her," she said. "One, it would shine a light on the inaccuracies of the impression, and, two, it's just always...the only word I can think of is 'sweaty.' It just always feels sweaty." Commenting on her impressions of Palin, Fey said, "I feel clean about it. All these jokes were fair hits."

Good News

"European carmakers will have to make a major cut in the amount of the global-warming gases produced by their vehicles. An agreement reached in Brussels Monday would give the manufacturers six years to reduce the emissions by nearly a fifth."

State Watch

ECONOMY: Nation's governors intend to request $176 billion in aid from President-elect Obama's stimulus package.

CALIFORNIA: San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom is delivering his State of the City address exclusively on YouTube and the city's website.

NEW JERSEY: Gov. Jon Corzine (D) signs legislation "that directs $64 million in state and federal funding to foreclosure prevention and neighborhood stabilization efforts."

Blog Watch

THINK PROGRESS: For nearly a year after recession started, Bush White House insisted that "we're not in a recession."

WONK ROOM: Rejecting the "Chuck and Larry" defense: Equal benefits for all federal employees.

YGLESIAS: President Bush goes out dodging.

CLIMATE PROGRESS: Carbon is forever: Fossil CO2 impacts will outlast Stonehenge and nuclear waste.

Daily Grill

"[T]here are accusations of mistreatment at Guantanamo, but there's certainly no proof that ever happened."
-- Bill O'Reilly, 12/1/08

VERSUS

"Captives at Guantánamo Bay were chained hand and foot in a fetal position to the floor for 18 hours or more, urinating and defecating on themselves, an FBI report has revealed."
-- The Guardian, 1/3/07