News Release
By Judge Diane Karpinski
Tony Lake Talks to Cleveland's Polish Leaders About Obama
On January 30, Tony Lake, a Senior National Security Advisor for Senator
Barack Obama, met with members of the Polish American leadership of
Cleveland. The meeting was arranged by Mark Brzezinski, son of Zbigniew
Brzezinski, President Carter's national securityadvisor, and the Washington
D.C. Office of the Polish American Congress.
John Borkowski, President of the Ohio Division of the Polish American
Congress, introduced Tony Lake. Borkowski started to list Lake's many
accomplishments in his 30-year career in foreign policy and his positions in
both Washington and prestigious universities, but Lake, showing his sense of
humor, interrupted saying, "I've had a hard time keeping a job."
Demonstrating not only his knowledge of, but also his respect for, Poland's
history, he noted that he has often removed the snow from the head of Jan
Karski's
statue in D.C. Lake answered a number of questions from the Polish community.
Visa Wavier Program
He was asked about Obama's views on visa waiver, especially the high number
of Poles rejected. Lake said that the rejection rate of 25% is a very high
number. He reported that Obama had disagreed with the exclusion of Poland
from the waiver program the Senate passed. In a speech on the senate floor
last July, Obama said, "We should work to include countries like Poland that
are members of both the EU and NATO into the Visa Waiver Program. Today's
visa regime reflects neither the current strategic relationship nor the
close historic bonds between our peoples, and is out of date."
Defense Missile Shield
Responding to a question about the Defense Missile Shield, Lake noted that
the Iranian threat is real and we need to promote a shield, but we are
"pushing faster than technology allows. And we have not consulted NATO
properly. ... We need to talk to the Russians, but we can't give them a veto
over it." Lake characterized current diplomacy as "lousy." "We need to talk
to enemies," he emphasized; "Reagan and Kennedy did."
Iraq
Turning to Iraq, Lake said Obama supported the war in Afghanistan, but Iraq
has "created more terrorists" and distracted us from Afghanistan. He noted
the presence of 1400 Polish soldiers there. He explained that the question
is what the outcome will be if we disengage. "Our troops were not defeated
militarily. The problem is political." He noted that the war in Iraq is
taking longer than WWII. "Iraq is not coming together politically. " Recent
Iraqi law probably makes it worse for Sunnis. Obama's plan is to take out
one brigade a month over 16 months. He quoted Obama: "We need to be as
careful going out as we were careless coming in." He added that it was a
"damn disgrace" the way the veterans are being treated. He reported that
Obama had introduced legislation to help veterans, especially regarding heal
injuries.
Campaign Finance Reform
Asked about campaign finance reform, he explained Obama was a co-sponsor of
the McCain-Feingold bill reforming campaigns. He added that Obama has
proposed to McCain that they both limit the amount each will spend on the
general election. He added that Obama had accepted no contributions from
health industry lobbyists or pharmaceuticals.
Health Insurance
Lake was asked about Obama's views on single payer health insurance. He said
Obama was originally for it, but decided it was not pragmatic-that it would
never get through Congress. Lake noted that Clinton's health plan was based
on "universal" coverage, but the question is what is meant by "universal."
It is a mandate to buy it, and there is an unspecified penalty if one does
not. The problem, however, is that "many can't afford health insurance." The
real problem is "how to reduce the cost and make various plans affordable."
His Reasons for Supporting Obama
Anthony Lake, who was a foreign policy advisor in President Clinton's 1992
campaign and later his National Security Advisor and White House Special
Envoy who mediated the drafting of the Algiers Agreement, ending the
Eritrean-Ethiopian War, began his remarks by explaining he was "not opposed
to Hillary." He said he started working with Obama in Illinois and was "more
and more impressed with him."
Lake explained, "He's authentic: he wrote his own books.... He doesn't
pander ... ; for example, he went to Detroit and said, reduce emissions... .
"Obama has not reinvented himself," Lake emphasized.
Another reason Lake gave was that Obama is for change. As an example, he
reported that Obama takes no contributions from corporate lobbyists. "We are
in terrible trouble in the world," Lake said. "We need a new face to the
world," he said, quoting a congressman friend, adding, "I can't think of a
better face to present to the world."
Anticipating the question whether Obama is "ready," he said Obama is one
year older than Clinton was when he ran and has more foreign policy
background than Reagan or Carter had. Lake noted that Obama serves on the
Senate Foreign Policy Committee, lived in Indonesia, and drove through
Kenya. "He understands the world better than the other candidates," Lake
explained. He added that Obama will be good in a crisis.
Moreover, he has built an effective campaign structure. Lake quoted Obama's
statement -there are no red states, no blue states; there is only the United
States- to illustrate Obama wants to heal divisions and reaches to
Republicans.
Anthony Lake is Distinguished Professor in the Practice of Diplomacy at the
Foreign Service School of Georgetown University. Currently, he is preparing
to teach a course on Vietnam, where he served as U.S. Vice Consul in Saigon
and Hue. Author of many books, he helped found the influential journal Foreign
Policy.
--
John Borkowski
216-696-3322
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