Tarullo, Rice given key roles in Obama transition
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Former Clinton administration aides Daniel Tarullo, Susan Rice and James Steinberg were named on Wednesday by President-elect Barack Obama to advise him on policy matters as he prepares for his move to the White House.
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Steinberg is among a handful of contenders under consideration for White House national security adviser.
Hmmm, mas quem será este tal de James Steinberg?
O que ele pensa sobre guerras preventivas?
It would be unfortunate if President Bush’s doctrine of preemption were a casualty of the Iraq war. We should avoid waging unilateral preventive wars of regime change. But circumstances will probably arise in which the option of using force preventively should be available – whether to kill terrorists, prevent weapons proliferation, halt genocidal killing or stop the spread of deadly disease. The task is to make the idea a more limited and more legitimate tool for dealing with new security threats.
Ah, quer dizer que pode fazer tudo que o Jorgibuxi fez, só não pode dizer que quer que o Iraque se torne uma Democracia? Sei, sei..
E sobre o polêmico Ato Patriótico, alguma coisa a dizer?
It should be emphasized that we have agreed to endorse the package as a whole as a reasonable and desirable overall compromise; this should not be construed as an accurate guide to the views of any individual member of our working group on any particular issue or provision taken in isolation. Subject to this understanding, the working group recommends:
(a) indefinite reauthorization without modification of 10 of the expiring provisions;
(b) indefinite reauthorization of six provisions with amendments along the lines outlined below; and
(c) reauthorization until December 31, 2008 of section 6001 of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act (the "lone wolf" provision).
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All of us take seriously the need to defend our nation from terrorist attack and to do so in a manner that is fully consistent with the values of a free society. As is true of any law that empowers the government to collect security-related information domestically, evaluating the Patriot Act requires one to weigh a wide range of competing interests – the most obvious of which are: (a) the ability of our government to detect and thwart attacks against our nation; and (b) the constitutional rights of those who live within it. While individual members of the working group would strike this balance in different ways, we agreed on the following general principles, which formed the basis for the deliberations and conclusions that follow:
* The provisions in question – many of which were longstanding proposals by the executive branch under both political parties – should be evaluated on their merits without regard to political considerations.
* The provisions of the Patriot Act that are due to expire have, taken as a whole, enhanced the government’s ability to protect the United States from potential terrorist attacks, other threats to our security, and ordinary crimes, and for that reason should not be permitted to expire.
* While a number of provisions may present risks to civil liberties if improperly applied, those risks can be minimized through amendments or procedural changes that would: (a) ensure that these measures are appropriately tailored to achieve their intended purpose; and (b) enhance the ability of the Congress and the courts to provide effective oversight.
* The President should request, and the Congress should provide, funding and personnel for the judicial and executive offices responsible for the handling of cases related to counterterrorism at levels that permit prompt and effective action as well as efficient compliance with statutory and administrative oversight requirements.
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Sincerely,
John D. Podesta
Richard A. Falkenrath
Mark D. Agrast
Bradford A. Berenson
Bryan Cunningham
James X. Dempsey
John A. Gordon
Eric H. Holder, Jr.
Robert S. Litt
Andrew C. McCarthy
Joseph N. Onek
Paul Rosenzweig
Stephen A. Saltzburg
Suzanne E. Spaulding
James B. Steinberg
Ryan P. Stiles
Quatro (ou oito) divertidos anos pela frente.
