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THE PROGRESSIVE REVIEW - November 19, 2009
Obama: Still Weeks to Go Before Decision on Afghanistan
by: Margaret Talev
McClatchy Newspapers
Seoul - President Barack Obama said Wednesday he's still
weeks away from deciding how many more U.S. troops to send
to Afghanistan and that he'd like to fire officials who've
leaked news of his deliberations to the news media.
"We have deliberations in the situation room for a reason;
we're making life and death decisions that affect how our
troops are able to operate in a theater of war. For people
to be releasing info in the course of deliberations is not
appropriate," Obama told CBS's Chip Reid in an interview
from China, one of several he did before heading to Seoul
as the last stop in a week-long trip to Asia.
Obama said the leaks were "absolutely" a firing offense,
but did not say whether he would try to find out who
leaked, and did not differentiate between those who may
have leaked from his own White House or from the Pentagon.
He also spoke about the toll of weighing life and death
decisions.
"You just don't have a comparable set of circumstances --
with two wars, a financial crisis as bad as anything since
1933, a host of regional issues that have to be dealt
with, a pandemic; you have a convergence of factors that
have made this a difficult year, not so much for me, but
for the American people. And so, absolutely that weighs
on me, because whenever I visit Walter Reed or other
military hospitals, I see the sacrifice young people are
making. That is a heavy weight. But it's an extraordinary
privilege, as well, and I wouldn't trade my job for
anything."
He stressed anew that whatever he decides, the U.S.
strategy depends on an honest Afghan government winning
the support and trust of its own people.
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"We have a vital interest in making sure that Afghanistan
is sufficiently stable, that it can't infect the entire
region with violent extremism," Obama told CNN's Ed Henry.
"We also have to make sure that we've got an effective
partner in Afghanistan. And that's something that we are
examining very closely and presenting some very clear
benchmarks for the Afghan government."
As he spoke, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton broke off
from the presidential entourage and headed to Afghanistan.
On the economy, Obama told Fox News that he's considering
new tax breaks to help businesses hire more people but
that he also worries that adding more to the debt could
help send the economy into a double dip recession.
"There may be some tax provisions that can encourage
businesses to hire sooner rather than sitting on the
sidelines. So we're taking a look at those," Obama told
Fox's Major Garrett.
"I think it is important, though, to recognize if we keep
on adding to the debt, even in the midst of this recovery,
that at some point, people could lose confidence in the
U.S. economy in a way that could actually lead to a double-
dip recession."
After finishing the interviews, Obama flew off to South
Korea, where he'll tell leaders he's committed to protect-
ing them militarily from North Korea and to expanding free
trade despite his concerns about the U.S.-Korea agreement
now stalled in Congress.
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He also will visit U.S. troops before wrapping up his week-
long Asia trip on Thursday.
The president landed at Osan Air Base on Wednesday night
local time, flying in from Beijing. Earlier, he capped
off a three-day China visit with a series of U.S.
television network interviews, a meeting with Chinese
Premier Wen Jiabao and a visit to the Great Wall.
The president chose a popular spot at the Badaling section
of the Great Wall; a sign said more than 150 million
visitors and 460 state chiefs and heads of government had
been there. His position there on a cold, windy afternoon
yielded views of steep climbs, ancient tiled roofs, snow-
dusted rocks and the Great Wall snaking off over the
horizon.
"It gives you a good perspective on a lot of the day-to-
day things," Obama said. "They don't amount to much in the
scope of history... our time here on Earth is not that
long, so we better make the best of it."
Obama will meet Thursday with Korean President Lee Myung-
bak, then fly to Osan for the rally. An official with
United States Forces Korea said the rally would include
about 1,500 service members, mostly from the Air Force
and Army, and some civilians and family members.
On his short stop in Seoul, the president also will thank
Koreans for their recent commitment to sending several
hundred civilian and military personnel to assist in
Afghanistan.
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Obama and Lee are expected to focus on two issues: getting
North Korea back to the table for Six-Party talks aimed at
denuclearizing the totalitarian regime, and discussing
ways to resolve concerns over the stalled U.S.-Korea Free
Trade Agreement.
It was penned in 2007 under the Bush administration but
Congress has resisted ratifying it, to the chagrin of
Korea and many U.S. business leaders. It would be the
most significant trade agreement since NAFTA.
Democrats are objecting to some elements of the trade agree-
ment, saying South Korea must further ease restrictions
on U.S. automobiles, beef and other agriculture and
manufactured goods before they can sign off. But many
business leaders say not ratifying the agreement now will
cost the U.S. significantly and allow the European Union
and others gain advantage.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has said not implementing the
agreement could cost the U.S. close to 350,000 jobs and
billions of dollars if the EU signs its own deal with
Korea in the meantime.
The agreement says roughly 95 percent of consumer and
industrial trade between the U.S. and Korea would become
duty free within three years and within a decade most
other tariffs would end. It would expand the reach of
the U.S. financial services sector and government
procurement business into Korea.
Last year, Korea represented the eighth largest goods
export market for the United States, according to the
Office of the U.S. Trade Representative; Korea was the
ninth largest source of goods imports to the U.S.
The U.S. has a goods trade deficit with Korea of $13.8
billion, but a services trade surplus of $6.2 billion.
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