A Rigid Ideology

Barack Obama opened the first meeting of his national security advisory team by slamming President Bush and John McCain for adhering to a "rigid" foreign policy ideology. Here are his opening comments from the Wash Post's pool report, available in full after the jump:

"Let me just open up by thanking this group of distinguished Americans for joining me today. This is the first meeting of what we're calling a senior working group on national security that I will be consulting between now and the election. Every single individual here has provided extraordinary service to our nation, in the executive branch or in Congress, the 9/11 commission. Several have been advising my campaign fo some time. I'm also honored to be joined by those who were advising Sen. Clinton's campaign in the role of senior advisers. In the months to come we expect to be reaching out to others. Today we're going to have a wind-ranging discussion about the national security challenges facing the United States. We are fighting the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan; we continue to face great threats not only from terrorism but also nuclear proliferation, climate change and poverty, genocide and disease.

"Nearly all these threats have grown over the last 8 years because of the policies of George Bush, which I believe have left us less safe and less respected in the world. There's going to be a clear choice in this election: John McCain wants to continue the Bush-Cheney foreign policy. I want to turn the page.

"Instead of adhering to a rigid ideology, I want to get back to a pragamatic tradition of American foreign policy which has been so ably advanced by the people in this room."

Pool report
Kornblut, Wash Post

Sen. Barack Obama convened his first "senior working group on national security" in a meeting room at the Liaison Hotel here in Washington, and allowed the press in to hear his opening statement. Seated next to him at the table were Madeleine Albright and Lee Hamilton; also in attendance were Richard Danzig, James Steinberg, Greg Craig, Susan Rice, Tim Roemer, William Perry, Tony Lake and David Boren. Warren Christopher and Sam Nunn also participated via speakerphone.

Eric Holder was not there; we were told he had a scheduling conflict and would not make this meeting, but is still a part of the working group.

The group was seated – with participants rather close together – around a table, with a backdrop of numerous large American flags.

Obama's openiing statement:

"Let me just open up by thanking this group of distinguished Americans for joining me today. This is the first meeting of what we're calling a senior working group on national security that I will be consulting between now and the election. Every single individual here has provided extraordinary service to our nation, in the executive branch or in Congress, the 9/11 commission. Several have been advising my campaign fo some time I'm also honored to be joined by those who were advising sen clintons campaign in the role of senior advisers. In the months to come we expect to be reaching out to others. Today we're going to have a wind-ranging discussion about the national security challenges facing the United States. We are fighting the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan; we continue to face great threats not only from terrorism but also nuclear proliferation, climate change and poverty, genocide and disease.

Nearly all these threats have grown over the last 8 years because of the policies of George Bush, which I believe have left us less safe and less respected in the world.

There's going to be a clear choice in this election: John McCain wants to continue the Bush-Cheney foreign policy. I want to turn the page.

Instead of adhering to a rigid ideology, I want to get back to a pragamatic tradition of American foreign policy which has been so ably advanced by the people in this room.

A policy that's focused on using all elements of American power to protect our people and to advance our interests. Yesterday, Sen. McCain showed yet again…(inaudible). He is also going to use the Bush-Cheney political playbook that's based on fear. He put a bunch of staunch Iraq war supporters on the phone to accuse me of having a pre-9/11 mindset. I believe actually that I am very clear about the threats America faces, as do the people around this table and those who are on the phone. And I think in fact it's the failed policies of the Bush administration, the unwillingness to look toward the future, that is causing us so many problems around the world."