Republican debate highlights foreign policy differences (The Christian Science Monitor)

Saturday nighta€?s Republican debate saw no major stumbles or gaffes, nothing in what CBS News and the National Journal ostentatiously called a€?The Commander-in-Chief Debatea€

In fact, of all the (it only seems like) hundreds of debates so far, this one seemed the most substantial, focusing on national security and foreign affairs – life-and-death issues that President Obama polls relatively well in.

While the range of differences stretched from tough to tougher – except for Ron Paul’s isolationism and Jon Huntsman's more experienced, more nuanced outlook – there were points at which differences were highlighted.

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Still, nothing happened to alter the basic candidate ranking as post-debate polls are likely to show – Mitt Romney and Herman Cain neck-and-neck at the top and Newt Gingrich enjoying a boomlet that may or may not last.

“The debate illustrated again that the divide in the GOP presidential field on foreign policy is between those who know what they are talking about and those who don’t,” observed Jonathan Tobin, senior online editor of the neoconservative Commentary magazine.

“A clear grasp of war and peace issues won’t transform Rick Santorum into a first tier candidate from an also-ran,” Tobin blogged following the debate. “But his lack of command of the issues does make it difficult, if not impossible, for Herman Cain to put forward a plausible argument for himself as a potential president…. While it must be admitted that he’s come a long way from the comical ignorance he displayed on this topic when he began his campaign, he still came across as the weakest of all the contenders.”

IN PICTURES: Republicans in the 2012 presidential race

Unable to tout his signature “9-9-9” tax scheme (although he did throw in another “9” citing what he said are the number of countries with nuclear weapons) or to exhibit his folksy style, which would have seemed inappropriate given the debate’s focus, Cain fell back on the cautious and fuzzy.

Several times when debate moderators tried to pin him down, he said he’d have to consult with military commanders – “a dodge that allowed him to avoid being drawn into several topics moderators pressed on,” as Jonathan Martin and Ginger Gibson at Politico.com put it.

Cain is definitely against torture, he said, although that does not include waterboarding as “enhanced interrogation.”

Here was a subject on which Ron Paul and Jon Huntsman stood out as the only ones opposed to the controversial interrogation procedure banned under international law, opposed by former POW Sen. John McCain, and for which Japanese officers were prosecuted by the United States after World War II.

Rep. Paul called waterboarding “immoral” and “impractical.”

"We diminish our standing in the world and the values that we project, which include liberty, democracy, human rights and open markets, when we torture," Huntsman said. "We lose that ability to project values that a lot of people in corners of this world are still relying on the United States to stand up for."

Most of the presidential hopefuls applauded the recent killing of major Al Qaeda figures, including Osama bin Laden and Anwar al-Awlaki. (Again, Ron Paul was the major exception.) That and the winding down of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan a€“ favored by most Americans a€“ made it harder for them to criticize the Obama administration on its approach to terrorism.

"I don't think there's a very strong narrative," Bush administration spokesman Tony Fratto told the Associated Press. "Is it a significant issue for a majority of Republican voters? No. It's not."

But recent reports of Iran’s activities to develop nuclear weapons gave an opening to threaten tougher sanctions and even a US military strike.

"If we re-elect Barack Obama, Iran will have a nuclear weapon. And if you elect Mitt Romney, Iran will not have a nuclear weapon," said Romney.

Rick Perry’s most memorable point of the evening was his statement that “every country is going to start at zero dollars” in American foreign aid. “Does that include Israel,” the moderator quickly asked? “Absolutely,” Perry said.

“Obviously Israel is a special ally and my bet is we would be funding them at some substantial level,” he said. “But it makes sense for everyone to come in at zero and make your case.”

Heading off what could have been seen as anything less than full support of Israel – an essential for any American politician seeking national office –  @PerryTruthTeam quickly tweeted, “Perry is a friend to Israel, understands challenges faced by the country.”

Still, the comment drew criticism.

“Perry's idea is bad news for Israel and shows how little he understands its needs,” wrote former CIA officer Bruce Riedel, now a senior fellow in the Saban Center at the Brookings Institution.

Perry’s proposal “would have a very disruptive impact on Israeli military planning and Israeli security,” Riedel wrote at Newsweek’s Daily Beast web site. “The reality is military budgets are planned on a multi-year cycle. Friends don't rethink their friendships each fiscal year.”

IN PICTURES: Republicans in the 2012 presidential race

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Obama touts foreign policy successes in Iraq, Libya (Reuters)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama sought on Saturday to cast himself as a strong leader on foreign policy, highlighting a U.S. pullout from Iraq and the death of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi as success stories.

In a message Obama is likely to push in his 2012 re-election campaign, he said his leadership had made it possible to turn the page on a decade of war and refocus on bolstering the U.S. economy and paying down the national debt.

Obama said in his weekly radio and Internet address that Gaddafi's death and the announcement that all U.S. troops would be removed from Iraq this year were "powerful reminders of how we've renewed American leadership in the world."

The emphasis on foreign policy comes as confidence in Obama's stewardship of the economy has fallen sharply, causing his overall approval ratings to slide to around 42 percent, the lowest of his presidency.

With the economy's woes weighing heavily on Americans' minds, Obama may have trouble gaining political traction from his message on foreign policy.

The killing in May of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden by a U.S. Navy Seal team in Pakistan brought only a temporary boost to Obama's poll numbers.

Obama mentioned bin Laden in the radio speech and said victories against al Qaeda -- along with the policies toward Iraq and Libya -- were "part of a larger story" of success.

"In Libya, the death of Muammar Gaddafi showed that our role in protecting the Libyan people, and helping them break free from a tyrant, was the right thing to do," he said.

"In Iraq, we've succeeded in our strategy to end the war," Obama added.

Prominent Republicans have criticized the decision to fully withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq, saying it would embolden neighboring Iran.

Republicans also contend Obama has hurt America's image by pursuing a "leading from behind" strategy on the "Arab Spring" uprisings.

Mitt Romney, the front-runner in the Republican race to challenge Obama in 2012, in a speech earlier this month accused the president of pulling back from the view that America should be the "strongest nation on Earth."

(Writing by Caren Bohan; Editing by Paul Simao)

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Marseille lays bare G7 differences and lack of policy room (Reuters)

MARSEILLE (Reuters) – Vague pledges and a lack of action by G7 countries underscored differences between Europe and the United States and a lack of room to maneuver in the face of the worst loss of confidence since the credit crisis.

After weeks of market turbulence, finance ministers and central bankers from the Group of Seven industrialized nations pledged a coordinated response on Friday to the global slowdown, but offered no specific steps and differed in emphasis on Europe's debt crisis.

While the United States called on Europe's biggest economies to provide "unequivocal" support to struggling peripheral states to overcome a debt crisis that is crippling the world recovery, euro zone paymaster Germany said the priority was cutting deficits.

"There is no sense of direction, which is entirely expected given that there is no agreement on the path for fiscal policy between the U.S. and Europe, and there is no agreement on the path of monetary policy either," said Gilles Moec, senior economist with Deutsche Bank in London.

"In a way, it's a communique which is a list of constraints which policymakers are facing," he said of a final statement host country France pushed other reluctant G7 members to produce at the end of talks that overran by nearly two hours.

Despite initially saying there was no need for a communique, France changed its tune to send a signal of unity to markets after Wall Street slumped nearly 3 percent on Friday.

"The communique was at the insistence of the French but in practice it's meaningless. We can't even agree on the problems so how can we agree on an analysis," said one G7 delegate.

Already battered markets were roiled by Friday's resignation of the top German official at the European Central Bank in protest at the bank's bond buying program, laying bare divisions within the European policymaking sphere just as the G7 illustrated global differences.

NO TALK OF COORDINATED STIMULUS

The final "terms of reference," less binding than a formal G7 communique, acknowledged tensions in markets and clear signs of a slowdown in global growth.

"We are committed to a strong and coordinated international response to these challenges," it said, but provided no further specifics beyond urging growth-friendly fiscal adjustments.

The statement voiced support for U.S. President Barack Obama's $447 billion jobs plan and for Europe's July 21 decision to beef up the powers of the euro zone's EFSF bailout facility, but papered over cracks in policy differences.

Speculation had swirled in some quarters that G7 central bankers might flag a coordinated monetary stimulus involving quantitative easing, but a second G7 delegate said that possibility was not even discussed.

"It is not realistic for the market to expect us to put hundreds of billions on the table every time we meet," he said.

Geithner told Friday's meeting he was confident the U.S. government would get at least a substantial part of Obama's jobs package through Congress despite Republican resistance, another delegate said.

But U.S. officials said most of the meeting was devoted to Europe's debt crisis and the health of its banks.

Seeking to allay fears over European bank funding, ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet told the meeting European banks held some $5 trillion in collateral eligible for access to central bank funds.

While Japan said it had received G7 blessing for unilateral foreign exchange action, delegates said the issue had not really even been discussed in depth by the meeting, and the statement had simply used the wording of previous statements.

(Additional reporting by Giselda Vagnoni; Editing by Catherine Bremer/Mike Peacock)

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Analysis: Economic leaders fear policy paralysis (Reuters)

JACKSON HOLE, Wyoming (Reuters) – The heads of the U.S. Federal Reserve, IMF and OECD stepped up pressure on political leaders on both sides of the Atlantic to shake off their inertia and tackle urgent economic problems.

If politicians ignore their pleas -- including a blunt call from International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde to "act now" -- the slowdown in world growth and debt turmoil in Europe could morph into a deeper crisis, top monetary officials and economists warned at an annual retreat here.

"I hope they listen," said Bank of Israel Governor Stanley Fischer.

Alarm over political deadlock was as obvious a backdrop to the annual meeting of policymakers in the wilds of Wyoming as the thunderstorms that rolled over the nearby Grand Teton peaks and dumped rain on the Jackson Lake Lodge.

"The governance right now is not going through a very brilliant moment, I have to say, neither in Europe nor in the United States," Angel Gurria, who heads the multi-nation Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, told Reuters.

"The signals that are coming out of the short-term discussions is, 'We can't even agree on about the time of the day, even if there's a big clock telling us what the time of the day is.'"

In the United States, the political impasse has thwarted moves to tame massive budget deficits which brought the nation to the edge of a debt default and cost the United States its coveted AAA credit rating from Standard & Poor's.

In Europe, leaders are fighting over who should pay for the sovereign debt crisis in the euro zone, which has a unified regime for monetary policy but whose member nations run their own budget policies.

PHONE CALLS, SPEECHES

Lagarde, whose appearance on Saturday was a late addition and reflected her sense of urgency, delivered a hard-hitting pitch against braking spending too fast as nations struggle to rein in long-term budget deficits.

She was far from alone.

The Fed has slashed U.S. interest rates to near zero and bought $2.3 trillion in long-term securities in an effort to kick-start the recovery. With monetary policy stretched to its limits, fiscal policy is now key, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke suggested.

"Although the issue of fiscal sustainability must urgently be addressed, fiscal policymakers should not as a consequence disregard the fragility of the current economic recovery," he said on Friday.

"Fortunately the two goals of achieving fiscal sustainability -- which is the result of responsible policies set in place for the longer term -- and avoiding the creation of fiscal headwinds for the current recovery are not incompatible."

Bernanke said battling long-term joblessness in the United States must be a top priority, and he called on the U.S. government to put a floor under the sagging housing market, remarks that Lagarde echoed forcefully on Saturday.

Bernanke's speech was "the shot across the bow of the government saying, 'don't keep layering expectations on the Federal Reserve, guys, you have a job to do,'" Columbia Business School Dean Glenn Hubbard said in an interview with Reuters Insider.

"The Fed is simply saying, 'We are monitoring the situation very carefully but would encourage the government, both parties, to get their act together and pass a long-term fiscal strengthening package and then perhaps short-term stimulus.

The calls from the world's economic policy elite may give some political cover to President Barack Obama, who faces a tough re-election fight next year with the U.S. unemployment rate stuck above 9 percent.

Obama is preparing for a speech after the September 5 Labor Day holiday in which he is expected to lay out proposals to boost hiring. He is reaching out to other world leaders too.

On Saturday, Obama spoke with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and the White House said the two leaders vowed to act to shore up a global recovery that now looks at risk.

A day earlier Obama had called Lagarde to talk about fiscal policy. They agreed that the world economy needs further steps to boost growth.

Obama's potential presidential challengers, including leading Republican candidate Mitt Romney, have repeatedly blamed Obama's policies for impeding growth.

The U.S. economy grew less than 1 percent in the first half of the year and has yet to return to its pre-recession size.

EUROPE'S BANKS FACE SCRUTINY

In Europe, the biggest threat is a spreading sovereign debt crisis, and richer euro zone nations, chief among them Germany, have shown a hesitancy in picking up the tab for nations on the debt-strapped periphery.

Stress tests last month exposed the degree to which European banks are exposed to Greek and other shaky government debt, and lenders are balking at extending credit.

Lagarde and European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet both said strengthening bank balance sheets is crucial.

"Although there is clarity on required policies, the uncertainty created by the political stances in both Europe and the United States poses some serious risks," Cornell University Professor Eswar Prasad said.

"Getting the policy balance right is tricky in itself; this adds a layer of uncertainty that will make it that much harder," Prasad said.

(Writing by Ann Saphir; Editing by Braden Reddall)

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Sheriff: Theme park policy ignored in vet's death (AP)

BATAVIA, N.Y. – A double-amputee Iraq War veteran who was hurled off a towering roller coaster to his death never should have been allowed on the ride, but park operators will face no criminal charges despite violating park policy, authorities said Wednesday.

Signs at the Ride of Steel roller coaster at Darien Lake Theme Park & Resort clearly state riders "must have two legs," Genesee County Sheriff Gary Maha said.

Sgt. James Hackemer died Friday when he was thrown from the last and second-highest of three hills on the coaster. He fell about 150 feet and landed on a grassy area at the park, which is between Rochester and Buffalo.

"He didn't have the physical attributes to hold him in," Maha said.

Investigators found no criminal activity, including intent. Yet the ride operators, who were not identified, "clearly knew" Hackemer shouldn't have been riding but offered no explanation for why they let him on.

"Darien Lake violated their own policies and procedures by letting him get on the ride," Maha said.

A promotional photograph taken automatically shows Hackemer's college-age nephew, Ashton Luffred, looking straight ahead in the moments after the accident, his face without expression and his hands on the safety bar in front of him. Authorities aren't releasing the photo.

Maha said Luffred was in a state of shock after the accident but told police Hackemer didn't say anything to indicate he was worried about falling off the ride.

Maha said park operators clearly violated policy by letting Hackemer on the ride but won't face criminal charges.

Civil liability could be determined later if a lawsuit is filed, he said. Hackemer's relatives have said they do not hold the theme park responsible.

Maha said the state labor department is still investigating the mechanics and safety of the ride but have indicated to him that the coaster was operating correctly.

Hackemer was missing all of his left leg and most of his right leg and was not wearing prosthetic limbs when he was thrown from the ride. The 29-year-old father of two had lost both his legs to a roadside bomb in Iraq in 2008 and was on a family outing when the accident happened.

A funeral service for Hackemer is planned for Thursday in his hometown of Gowanda. He will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

The car pulled into the loading station with the lap bar and seatbelt still in place, Maha said.

The ride is still closed pending the state labor department probe.

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