High Stakes for Obama at Weekend Security Conference
New York Times – United States
February 5, 2009
The Obama administration is facing its first big international test this weekend as Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. heads to a conference in Europe in the face of a confrontational stance from an old cold war adversary.
Administration officials have concluded that Russia pressed Kyrgyzstan, a former Soviet republic, to close the American base in that country, which they interpret as a shot across the bow. The base is crucial to the American-led fight in Afghanistan that Mr. Obama has identified as his central national security objective. Mr. Obama plans to deploy as many as 30,000 additional troops to Afghanistan over the next two years …
…will Mr. Biden seek to reassure Russia that the Obama administration will ease up on western forays into the former Soviet sphere?
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/06/washington/06policy.html?_r=1&ref=world
