Foreign Views Prove Less Neat Than 'Hawk' and 'Dove'

New administration will need to fix problems Bush has not addressed

(NEWSER) - Taking the attitude that "since we were now all-powerful, allies were no longer necessary," President Bush damaged the US' image and diminished its power, Fred Kaplan writes in Slate. How can the next president heal our diplomatic woes?

1. Visit all Middle East countries; leave a full-time envoy: "It is appalling that President Bush made his first trip to Israel and the Palestinian territories in his final year."

He notes McCain's gaffe confusing Sunni and Shiite groups

(NEWSER) - Barack Obama laid into both presidential rivals on the Iraq war today, chiding John McCain for misspeaking about terror groups there and criticizing Hillary Clinton for voting to authorize the conflict. "We heard Sen. McCain confuse Sunni and Shi'ite, Iran and al-Qaeda," Obama said, pouncing on McCain for errantly accusing Iran of training Sunni Al-Qaeda in Iraq. Iran is known to train Shi'ite extremists. More»

Fellow GOP senators and Vietnam vets 'fundamentally disagree' on key issues

(NEWSER) - Though Chuck Hagel and John McCain have plenty in common as Republican senators and Vietnam veterans, the Nebraskan says foreign policy is why he’s not on board. “In good conscience, I could not enthusiastically—honestly—go out and endorse him,” Hagel tells the New Yorker, “when we so fundamentally disagree on the future course of our foreign policy and our role in the world.” More»

Some Iranians pro-McCain, some pro-Obama, for strange and different reasons

(NEWSER) - Though isolated and remote, Iran is understandably interested in the outcome of the US presidential election. Iranian papers are covering every aspect, publishing extensive biographies and transcripts of the debates. Opinions run the gamut, but one consensus seems to be that it doesn't matter who wins because the US has a preordained anti-Iran policy, with Israel to blame. MSNBC hit the streets to take the temperature. More»

'Core point' correct that president will be tested no matter who wins

(NEWSER) - Barack Obama sought to blunt criticism of Joe Biden today, saying that though his running mate “engages in rhetorical flourishes,” he was right in saying “the next administration is going to be tested, regardless of who it is,” reports the Chicago Tribune. Critics in the McCain campaign had used Biden’s prediction of imminent international crises to underscore Obama’s foreign-policy inexperience. More»