Team Obama 2.0 is starting to take shape, things look good so far. Susan Rice has withdrawn her candidacy for secretary of state to replace Hillary Clinton. This that leaves Senator John Kerry as the top man for the job. Kerry brings a wealth of experience to the job and is seen as being a loyal soldier for Obama. Rumor has it that former Republican Senator Chuck Hagel will be nominated for Secretary of Defense for the outgoing Leon Panetta. If true, and if they pass the confirmation process, they would bring a experience and more importantly good ideas to Obama's foreign policy team. For an overview on what their impact will be you can read this article from the Washington Post. Realists and those weary of the Neocon foreign policy of the Bush era are happy at the appointments. Stephen Walt recently blogged giving the top five reasons why Chuck Hagel would make a good secretary of defense. In the Washington Post article, Christopher Preble, the author of "the power problem" and a supporter of a more modest US foreign policy, said the following about Chuck Hagel "I expect that Hagel will generally advise against sending U.S. troops on quixotic nation-building missions". For those weary of long wars this can be taken by most as good news.
As the Washington Post article notes, there are plenty of issues for Obama to deal with in his second term: Iran's nuclear ambitions, rising China, the Syrian civil war, a shrinking defense budget, unrest in the Middle East, and the global financial crisis. I think they will make a good impact on Cuban issues and on Israel-Palestine issues. Both Kerry and Hagel favor more moderate positions on Cuba. They also could convince Obama to pressure Israel into meaningful compromise that could lead to progress in the peace talks.
While there are many obstacles ahead that could prevent Obama from a successful second term (not saying that the first was successful), the formation of Obama's second term foreign policy term is certainly a step in the right direction.
