POL Biden Gives Odds on Messing Up: close to 1 in 3 (30%)

[Heliobas Disciple]

http://www.cq.com/flatfiles/editorialFiles/temporaryItems/biden_gives_odds_on.html?do
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Biden Gives Odds on Messing Up
By Edward Epstein, CQ Staff
CQ TODAY ONLINE NEWS
Feb. 6, 2009 12:15 p.m.

Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. is nothing if not optimistic. So it was a little surprising when he hedged a bit earlier today, telling House Democrats there is "30 percent chance we'll get it wrong."

He was referring to efforts by the new administration and the Congress to address what he called a "constellation of crises" at home and abroad that pose great risks for the nation.

"If we do everything right, if we do it with absolute certainty, there's still a 30 percent chance we'll get it wrong," he told the lawmakers at their policy retreat in Williamsburg, Va.

Biden, who stopped at the meeting on his way to an international security conference in Munich, said "not since World War II, at least, has a caucus gathered with so much at stake for our country, with the stakes so high." He listed the economic crisis and ongoing fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan as the most pressing issues.

Biden used a football analogy to describe the situation in Iraq, saying the United States is "on the 20-yard-line" and "driving toward the goal." But sticking with his football metaphor, the vice president said the situation in Afghanistan is much more serious now. The effort there, he said, "is on the 20-yard-line with 80 yards to go. We've got a long, long way to go."

He also warned that the United States will have to extend a new aid package to Pakistan to help fight the Taliban influence.

He thanked the lawmakers for passing an $819 billion stimulus bill (HR 1).

"In these uncharted waters, you stepped up in a big way," he said.

 

[Heliobas Disciple]

http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2009/02/06/biden-urges-passage-of-stimulus-despite-voter-backlash/
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Biden Urges Passage of Stimulus Despite Voter Backlash
Susan Davis reports from Williamsburg, Va., on the House Democrats’ retreat.
February 6, 2009, 11:27 am

Vice President Joe Biden acknowledged today that Democrats could face political repercussions in 2010 for their support of the $900 billion economic stimulus package.

“But when we do [approve it], I’m sure you’re going to be nailed in ads, ‘Well they voted on that’ 30 second ads,” Biden told roughly 200 members of the House Democratic Caucus gathered here for their three day annual retreat. “I promise you as [a colleague] once said to me, ‘I’ll come campaign for you or against you, whichever will help you the most in your district.’ And so will the president because, again, we’re all in this together.”

The vice president also offered some trademark candor about the prospects of success.

He recalled a recent White House meeting with the president and senior aides in which they were discussing the many challenges the country faces. “If we do everything right, if we do it with absolute certainty, there’s still a 30% chance we’re going to get it wrong,” was his message at the meeting.

Biden warned that the consequences were too great for the country to allow politics to prevent action. “The only thing we can get wrong is not reaching a consensus among ourselves…and demonstrating to the American people that we’re thinking small and politically—you [House Democrats] have not, you’ve thought big,” he said. All but 10 House Democrats voted for the bill.

Echoing President Barack Obama’s remarks here Thursday, Biden aligned this moment with other great challenges the country has faced. “Not since World War II has a caucus gathered with so many challenges facing our country and the stakes so high,” he said. “The slope is pretty steep. The opportunities are great.”

Biden noted that history suggests many of the smart decisions made to aid the nation were unpopular, and that Congress will have to take tough votes. “There were very few decisions that were made [back then] that were popular,” he said. “That’s the bad news folks.”

Yet Biden sought to strike an optimistic tone here and underscored the importance of unity in the ranks. “This is about all of us, we’re in this together,” he said, and “when it works, as I’m absolutely convinced it will, I’m absolutely convinced, that our best days are ahead of us. I’m not just saying that, I really believe that with every fiber in my being that this is an opportunity.”

 

[tiger13]

The idiot should just shut up and go have another drink

 

[Heliobas Disciple]

http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5i693ECuVUe5cIwyvqHf_lhFkz6LQ
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U.S. VP Joe Biden warns of 'perilous road' ahead in Iraq and Afghanistan
5 hours ago

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. — Vice-President Joe Biden warned Friday that the United States faces a tough and dangerous task as it shifts the military from Iraq to Afghanistan.

"The road remains incredibly, incredibly perilous" in both countries, Biden told House Democrats just before embarking on the first foreign trip by a top Obama administration official.

President Barack Obama made an Iraq drawdown and an Afghanistan buildup a foreign policy cornerstone of his presidential campaign, and the administration is set to move forward on both goals in the coming weeks.

The president dispatched Biden to a gathering of House Democrats at a retreat southeast of Washington to deliver an assessment of international challenges ahead.

Biden's sombre take on foreign policy - in contrast to Obama's feisty campaign-style pep talk on the economy the night before - appeared intended to lower expectations for an immediate troop withdrawal in Iraq and a quick turnaround in Afghanistan.

"The progress is real in Iraq," Biden said before invoking a football analogy. "We're on the 20-yard line moving in but there's an awful lot to be done."

He said the administration must be "very deeply involved" not just in drawing down troops in a careful manner but also in helping Iraqis reach true political reconciliation. "We're going to have to get in there and be much more aggressive in forcing them to deal with these issues," he said.

In Afghanistan, Biden said, "The economic and security and social conditions there are daunting" and the United States has "geography, demography and history working against us."

"We have a long, long way to go there," Biden said.

But he also says the deteriorating situation and Taliban resurgence is a global problem, and there is no solution in Afghanistan without Pakistan.

"We've got to make Afghanistan the world's responsibility, not just the United States' responsibility," he said, eliciting cheers.

The U.S. has some 33,000 soldiers in Afghanistan, and Obama is expected to send another 30,000 this year as his administration shifts its focus from the war in Iraq to the Afghan conflict.

Biden, the former chairman of the Senate foreign relations committee, spoke to the Democratic rank and file just before leaving for a security conference in Munich, Germany.

He also was slated to hold bilateral meetings with Russia, Georgia, Germany, France and Britain.

 

[Heliobas Disciple]

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2009\02\07\story_7-2-2009_pg7_28
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All eyes on Biden in Munich
Saturday, February 07, 2009

LAHORE: Speculation is rife that US Vice President Joe Biden could deliver a bombshell at Munich — offering an end to estrangement with Iran; shelving the missile shield plans in Poland and the Czech Republic; or inviting the Kremlin to embark on fresh nuclear arms control talks, The Guardian wrote on Friday.

The Obama administration is also expected to ditch the go-it-alone foreign policy legacy of the Bush years today when the VP delivers his first big speech on global security.

“There is a tremendous air of expectation,” said an EU diplomat. “This could be a fundamental weekend in the security of Europe. We really could be in for a big change.”

The Polish foreign minister, Radek Sikorski, discussed the missile defence controversy with Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, last week. The Poles expect the project to be shelved. But Warsaw does not expect the announcement this weekend.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUKTRE5155AB20090206
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Poland to tell U.S.'s Biden it is ready for shield-PM
Fri Feb 6, 2009 7:00pm GMT

WARSAW (Reuters) - Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk said he would tell U.S. Vice President Joe Biden when they meet in Munich on Saturday that Warsaw was ready to host parts of the U.S. missile shield system, as agreed in August. "I will definitely tell Vice President Biden tomorrow in Munich we are ready to participate in this project, a U.S. project," he told a news conference, referring to installing 10 ground-based interceptors as part of a global missile defence.

"When we agree something with our ally, we keep our promise," Tusk said.

Washington says the system will protect it and its European allies from terrorist attack and so-called 'rogue' states, notably Iran.

But new U.S. President Barack Obama has said he will review the project before making a final decision. Some media say Washington may consider scrapping the plan in a push to clinch a new arms control deal with Moscow and also to save money.

Biden will meet Tusk at the Munich Security Conference, where some political analysts say the new U.S. administration may give an indication of its position on missile defence.

Moscow fiercely opposes the missile shield project, viewing it as a threat to its own national security and said last year it would install short-range missiles in its Baltic enclave of Kaliningrad bordering Poland in retaliation.

However, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov confirmed on Friday earlier reports saying Kremlin would not install Iskander missiles in Kaliningrad if the U.S. does not deploy shield in central Europe.