Obama on Top of the World: The Latest in US Foreign Policy (26 January)

Earlier Updates and Links to Posts: Obama on Top of the World (25 January)

5 p.m. We're off for some downtime. Back in the morning with overnight updates, including the latest of Obama envoy George Mitchell's first trip to the Middle East.

3:30 p.m. Barack, We Have a Problem. Our news this morning (2:45 a.m. and 6 a.m.) was on the emerging "third country" solution for Guantanamo ex-detainees. The meeting of the 27 European Union foreign ministers, however, has failed to agree a unified approach. The French-led proposal to take up to 60 detainees has been blocked or undermined by Germany, Austria, and the Netherlands.

The cheekiest excuse of all came from British Foreign Minister David Miliban who said that, as Britain had taken back nine of its citizens and three of its permanent residents, it had already made its "significant contribution".



3:15 p.m. Here's a New Crisis for You. Well, not that new, for anyone paying attention, but one that the Obama Administration can't welcome. Islamic insurgents in Somalia have raided the Parliament building in Baidoa and paraded five lawmakers through the streets. The remainder of the Parliamentarians, meeting in the neighbouring country of Djibouti, are effectively stranded. As one said, "We have nowhere to return to."

The insurgents' takeover in Baidoa occurred only hours after Ethiopian troops completed their withdrawal from the country.

2:55 p.m. Sticking to the Script. The US Ambassador to the UN, Susan Rice, said today that she looked forward to "vigorous diplomacy that includes direct diplomacy with Iran". This follows the line put out on the Obama White House website --- what we're awaiting is a sign of how the Administration will approach Tehran.

1:45 p.m. Further to our report (5:05 a.m.) of the removal of the People's Mujahideen Organisation of Iran (Mujahedin-e-Khalq) off the European Union's list of terrorist organisations:

Iran has criticised the decision as an "irresponsible move". The European response, anticipated by our readers in the Comments section on this thread, is that European courts left no alternative. The EU's head of foreign policy, Javier Solana, said, "What we are doing today is abiding by the decision of the court. There is nothing we can do about the decision."

The PMOI/MKO's political branch, however, is treating the decision as legal and political vindication and is planning its next activities. Marjam Rajavi, leader of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, called the removal from the terrorist list "a crushing defeat to Europe's policy of appeasement". A spokesman said the group would now seek to have its funds unfrozen, claiming the NCRI had $9 million in France and tens of millions in other European states.

11:30 a.m. The State Department Twitterers are offering updates from the Department press briefing. Good News: unlike the Bushmen, who saw any expression of local independence as a threat to Washington's control, Department spokesman has welcomed the outcome of Bolivia's constitutional referendum.

The Not-so-Good (Technical) News: We excitedly clinked on the link, expecting Wood's briefing or a detailed statement of the new Latin American policy and got...a map of Bolivia.

Bless.

10:30 a.m. Oh, No. Last week we reported, when George Mitchell and Richard Holbrooke were named as Obama envoys, that US foreign policy and the world had dodged a bullet because Dennis Ross had unexpectedly not been unveiled as envoy on Iranian matters.

We celebrated too soon. According to the Foreign Policy blog "The Cable", "State Department sources...[say] that former Middle East peace negotiator Dennis Ross has indeed been tapped as the U.S. envoy to Iran, with the possible title 'ambassador at large'."

If Ross is indeed named, we'll roll out the reasons why this could lead to a disastrous US approach towards Tehran. For now, have a look at Ross' November 2008 opinion piece that insists, despite US intelligence estimates that say otherwise, "Iran has continued to pursue nuclear weapons", and suggests tougher sanctions, "Hitting the [Iranian] economy more directly would force the mullahs to make a choice."

10 a.m. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is expected to name Todd Stern as "climate change envoy" today.

Stern was a staff member in the Bill Clinton White House, coordinating the Initiative on Global Climate Change from 1997 to 1999 before becoming an advisor to the US Treasury. He is now senior partner in a law firm and a Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress, focusing on climate change and environmental issues.

6:45 a.m. Pressure to the Left of Me, Pressure to the Right. Last week it became clear that some in the US military, as well as the US ambassador in Iraq, are digging in their heels on the Obama plan to withdraw combat troops from Iraq within 16 months.

Today Obama is getting a nudge from the other side. Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, facing provincial elections, is declaring that that the withdrawal "will be accelerated and occur before the date set in the [Status of Forces] agreement" between the US and Iraq. That agreement, passed in December, promises the withdrawal of US troops by the end of 2011.

6 a.m. Following up our early update (2:45 a.m.) on the "third country" solution for Guantanamo Bay detainees, there is a potentially major meeting in Brussels today. European Union foreign ministers are discussing the proposal to take in the released prisoners. Javier Solana, the EU Secretary-General, suggested, "This is an American problem and they have to solve it but we'll be ready to help if necessary... I think the answer of the EU will be yes."

The number of up to 60 detainees to be accepted by Europe, floated by the French this weekend, may match up to the 50 to 60 "hard cases" identified by the US. These are detainees who face possible human rights abuses if they are returned to home countries.

5:05 a.m. One Man's Terrorist is Another's.....The European Union has taken the People's Mujahideen Organisation of Iran, also known as the Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO), off a list of banned terrorist groups.

MKO was formed in the 1960s as a "leftist" opposition group against the rule of the Shah of Iran but, after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, it broke with the new Government. MKO, from bases in France and then Iraq, began a sustained campaign of bombings, sabotage, and assassinations against Iranian targets during the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s, and operations have continued since then.

In 2003, there was a split in the US Government between those who wanted to use the group against Iran and those who wanted to curb its activities. MKO remained in Iraq, although its members were disarmed and guards were posted on its bases. Last week, the Iraqi Government asked MKO members to leave the country "voluntarily".

5 a.m. Two US military aircraft have crashed in northern Iraq, killing four soldiers.

3:45 a.m. In a major victory for President Evo Morales, Bolivia's new constitution has been approved in a referendum with a "Yes" vote of more than 60 percent.

3:30 a.m. Pakistani insurgents blew up a school this morning in the Swat Valley in the northwest of the country, the 183rd destroyed in six months. Cleric Maulana Fazlullah has presented a list, published in local newspapers, of 50 Government officials ordered to appear before him or face death. A bicycle bomb planted near a women's hostel killed five people.

2:45 a.m. It's becoming clear that the Obama strategy for closing Guantanamo Bay rests upon getting third countries to take detainees. Vice President Joe Biden, in the headline interview on the Sunday talk shows, said, "We won't release people inside the United States. They're either going to be tried in courts, in military courts, or sent back to their own country."

There are major legal difficulties with the courts option, since the Bush Administration's chaotic and tortuous handling of detainees means that evidence may have been perverted beyond repair. So it's over to Europe: Portugal last month said it would consider taking some ex-detainees, and Switzerland followed last week. Ireland has said that it would accept some released prisoners, if it was part of a "European" solution. And that in turn points to reports that France is preparing such an initiative for the European Union.

1:45 a.m. Juan Cole, despite an over-sensational headline ("Obama's Vitenam?"), has an excellent overview of Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the likely Obama strategy in Salon.

Overnight Update (1 a.m. Washington time): Two days after US missile strikes in Afghanistan killed 22 "militants" and/or civilians, The New York Times highlights an earlier attack that killed between 22 and 32 people, quoting from survivors:

The American military declared the nighttime raid this month a success, saying it killed 32 people, all Taliban insurgents — the fruit of an emphasis on intelligence-driven use of Special Operations forces.

But the two young men who lay wincing in a hospital ward here told a different story a few days later, one backed up by the pro-American provincial governor and a central government delegation. They agreed that 13 civilians had been killed and 9 wounded when American commandos broke down doors and unleashed dogs without warning on Jan. 7 in the hunt for a known insurgent.

It appears that today's headline Obama orders will take on former President George W. Bush and climate change. White House officials indicate that the moves will be domestic, including steps "to raise fuel efficiency standards and grant states authority to limit greenhouse gas emissions from cars".

There is no indication yet that President Obama will launch a post-Kyoto process on climate change, nor of how he will reverse the Bush Administration's isolation from international discussions.

Obama on Top of the World: The Latest in US Foreign Policy (25 January)

Later Updates: Obama on Top of the World (26 January)
Earlier Updates: Obama on Top of the World (24 January)
Latest Post: Obama Keeps (Illegal?) Surveillance Powers
Latest Post: Post-Inauguration 2009: The Revolution Will Not Be Televised

2:55 p.m. Get Ready for a Bumpy Ride. Vice President Joe Biden is preparing the US public not only for a surge in US troop levels in Afghanistan but a rise in dead and wounded. Asked this morning on Face the Nation if he thought there would be an increase in casualties, he replied, "I hate to say it, but yes, I think there will be. There will be an uptick."

11 a.m. An inadvertent revelation in attempted boosterism by The Sunday Telegraph of London today. The article headlines that 300 British bomb disposal technicians and intelligence staff are going to southern Afghanistan to combat the Taliban's use of improvised explosive devices. The reports adds that this will raise British troop levels to 8600 but it then undermines all the good work: "The size of the force is likely to increase to around 10,000 in the autumn or early next year with the deployment of an additional 1,000 strong battle group into Helmand."



So the total British boost to complement the expected US surge will be 1300 troops, no more. That's out of the more than 4000 UK forces being withdrawn from Iraq by July.

No wonder there's been sniping in the US press about the lack of British commitment to the Afghan effort. And no wonder that "General David Petraeus, the commander of the US's Central Command, is due to visit the UK in the next few weeks", trying to armtwist Prime Minister Gordon Brown into a further British escalation.

10 a.m. Propaganda of the Day. Uzi Mahnaimi, who writes from Tel Aviv for the Sunday Times, trumpets, "An American naval taskforce in the Gulf of Aden has been ordered to hunt for suspicious Iranian arms ships heading for the Red Sea as Tehran seeks to re-equip Hamas."

That's not news --- we posted this days ago --- but then Mahnaimi is not a reporter in any meaningful sense of the day. Instead, he's a channel for Tel Aviv's "information" line, which in this case is ramping up the campaign against Iran.

Thus Mahnaimi states that a US ship intercepted a "former Russian vessel" and held it for two days --- again, not news, as we noted the incident when it occurred earlier this week --- and adds, "According to unconfirmed reports, weapons were found." Very unconfirmed: the former Russian vessel had artillery, which Hamas does not use, and no further arms were found when it was searched in report.

Of course, this doesn't stop Mahnaimi, who tosses in the Israeli suspicion that two Iranian destroyers, sent to help fight piracy off the Somalian coast, are part of a scheme to run weapons to Gaza. And he has more:

Iran plans to ship Fajr rockets with a 50-mile range to Gaza. This would bring Tel Aviv, its international airport and the Dimona nuclear reactor within reach for the first time.

Of course, Iran may be supplying weapons to Hamas but this story is Israeli-inspired misinformation, of value to Tel Aviv's political schemes but worthless for any analysis of the aftermath of the Gaza conflict. (cross-posted from The Latest From Israel-Palestine-Gaza thread)

4:20 a.m. Thousands have marched in Afghanistan on Sunday to protest US airstrikes and civilian deaths.

3:40 a.m. Here's another reason not to close Guantanamo Bay: Bad Paperwork. Since the Bush Administration never had plans for a legal process for the detainees, there was no reason to keep organised files. The Washington Post reports:

President Obama's plans to expeditiously determine the fates of about 245 terrorism suspects held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and quickly close the military prison there were set back last week when incoming legal and national security officials -- barred until the inauguration from examining classified material on the detainees -- discovered that there were no comprehensive case files on many of them.

3:15 a.m. It may be the weekend, but the campaign to limit and possibly undermine the Obama plan to close Guantanamo continues. We noted on Friday and on Saturday that some in the US military and intelligence communities are feeding "exclusives" to The New York Times about ex-detainees who are rejoining Al Qa'eda.

Today Times reporter Robert Worth, who might as well collect his paycheck from the Pentagon, writes a follow-up: "Two former Guantánamo Bay detainees now appear to have joined Al Qaeda’s Yemeni branch, which released a video on Friday showing them both and identifying them by their names and Guantánamo detainee numbers." One of the detainees is Said Ali al-Shihri, the featured bad guy in Worth's Friday article.

2:55 a.m. The Daily Telegraph of London has a good article looking at the US detention facility at Camp Bagram in Afghanistan. The prison currently holds 600 detainees, more than twice as many as Guantanamo, and...

Not only are there no plans to close it, but it is in the process of being expanded to hold 1,100 illegal enemy combatants; prisoners who cannot see lawyers, have no trials and never see any evidence there may be against them.

2:50 a.m. We've posted a separate entry on a little-noticed development, in a court case in San Francisco, which indicates the Obama Administration will maintain the Bush executive orders sanctioning wiretapping and electronic eavesdropping at home as well as abroad.



Overnight update (2 a.m. Washington time): Friday's US missile strikes in Pakistan, which killed 22 people, may escalate into a political test for both the Obama Administration and Pakistan Government of Asif Zardari. In comments and a wordy statement, Zardari and the Pakistani Foreign Ministry said --- at least publicly --- Back Off:

With the advent of the new US administration, it is Pakistan's sincere hope that the United States will review its policy and adopt a more holistic and integrated approach toward dealing with the issue of terrorism and extremism. We maintain that these strikes are counterproductive and should be discontinued.

Obama has not commented on the strikes, but US officials have been spinning the line that the attacks show his commitment to former President Bush's policy of unilateral American military action in northwest Pakistan.

Elsewhere, some news outlets are paying attention to yesterday's suicide bombing in Somalia, which killed 15 people and illustrated the growing turmoil in the country.

The Alternative Inauguration Watch

Later post: A Gut Reaction to the Obama Speech
Later post: A New Nation

1:30 p.m. I've posted an entry, "A Gut Reaction to the Obama Speech", which incompletely, possibly incoherently summarises my mixed emotions on this day and on the day after. We've posted the transcript of the speech, which is also available via CNN.

President Barack Obama is now lunching with Congress before his motorcade to the White House and the Inaugural Parade. It is afternoon, but It is Still Morning in America.

Thank you for joining us today.

12:25 p.m. The closing set-piece as Obama invokes "the father of our Nation" George Washington huddled with his troops at Valley Forge in the midst of hardship: this is how America today "faces its common dangers".

"We carried forth that great gift of liberty and delivered it safely to future generations."



12:24 p.m. As Obama refers to himself as the child of a man who could not get served 60 years ago and who is now taking "this sacred oath", a big round of applause....

12:23 p.m. A return to the old truths of "courage and patriotism" with a new responsiblity: "This is the price and promise of our citizenship....This is the meaning of our liberty."

12:21 p.m. The tribute to America's "fallen heroes" as example of greatness for the rest of us, but also...

"The kindness of workers" who take in those when the levees break (there's the reference ot Katrina), to the firefighters who protect us, etc.

12:19 p.m. America's strength comes from its patchwork heritage: "As the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself and America must play its role."

To Muslim world: we seek way forward based on mutual trust and mutual respect --- A message sent out to those who are corrupt and deceitful, but we will extend a hand "if you will unclench your fist"

12:18 p.m. "Our security emanates from the justice of our cause."

And specifics --- leave Iraq to its people and ensure security of Afghanistan. To the terrorists: "we will defeat you". (round of applause)

12:17 p.m. "We reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine drafted a charter of ideals which inspired the world" (cutaway to shot of former President George W. Bush) and "assured the rule of law and the rights of man. That Charter inspired the world and we will not give it up for expedient's sake."

"America is a friend of each nation, and we are ready to lead once more."

12:16 p.m. "The question is not whether Government is too big or too small, but whether it works." (Compare that to Ronald Reagan's dismissal of "Government" in 1980.) Nor is it a question of free market right or wrong, but the fact that it is "surest route to our common good".

12:14 p.m. "Starting today we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and rebuild America." We will rebuild our economy, raise up science and technology, harness energy, and transform schools and universities.

"There are some who question the scale of our ambitions" (take that Congressional opponents of my economic plan) "but they have forgotten what this nation has done."

12:11 p.m. "The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit." --- "All are equal, all are free."

Call to reaffirm greatness of nation but "we" have always known this must be earned. So hail to the risk-takers and the brave, who crossed oceans, toiled sweatshops, went to the West, endured the lash of the whip, fought and died "for us".

"America is bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions."

12:10 p.m. Decline measured in statistics but also in confidence. However, now, "know this, America, these challenges will be met....We have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over discord." There is an end to "petty grievances" that plague our politics.

12:09 p.m. Obama: "We are in the midst of crisis. Our country is at war" against a far-flung enemy, economy in troube. "Our collective failure to make decisions" has strengthened our adversaries and threatened our planet.

12:07 p.m. To chants of "Obama!", the 44th President begins his Inaugural Speech.

Polite applause when Obama thanks George W Bush, who is no longer the President of the United States of America.

12:06 p.m. GEORGE W BUSH IS NO LONGER THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

12:06 p.m. Barack Hussein Obama is now President of the United States of America.

12:05 p.m. Well, Obama just fluffed his lines taking the oath, but I don't think it matters. "Congratulations, Mr President."

12:04 p.m. Chief Justice John Roberts introduced to give the oath and the crowd is already screaming.

12:01 p.m. The alternative post for 11:57 a.m.: "Biden sworn in. Dick Cheney no longer vice president, instead just a creepy old guy (in a wheelchair) who shoots his friends in the face."

11:59 a.m. Pause for a John Williams song performed by Itzhak Perlman, Yo Yo Ma, etc.

I'm sorry but, if I'm in that crowd in sub-freezing temps, I'm thinking, "Can we just put this on 78 rpm?"

11:57 a.m. Joe Biden takes the oath to become the Vice President of the United States. Must be the shortest speech he's ever given.

Good round of applause but you know that folks are holding back a bit for what's to come.

11:53 a.m. Sing It, Aretha. In the service of a new Anglo-American relationship, Ms Franklin has just started on the British national anthem "God Save the Queen", also known as "My Country 'Tis of Thee".

11:48 a.m. Pastor Rick Warren, a controversial choice, delivers the invocation. Respectful but muted applause except for a couple of boos.

Not sure "Hear O Israel, the Lord is our God" is the most politically sensitive choice of Scripture, given current events.

11:43 a.m. I do have chills up my arms as I type this: Barack H. Obama has been introduced as the next President of the United States. I cannot capture how loud that cheer sounded.

If only this moment can be carried forward over the next months and the years....

11:43 a.m. Via Twitter: "Standing O for the O-man at the Paramount [cinema]. Sustained whooping and hollering."

11:40 a.m. Fox's Juan Carlos Williams is worried about the "tightness" in Obama's jaw. Chris Wallace adds, "We're in a severe economic crisis, we're in a continuing War on Terror, we're in two wars...."

C'mon guys, lighten up.

11:39 a.m. Vice President-elect Joe Biden comes out to a massive roar. Meanwhile, shots of Obama coming down the Capitol stairs. No smile, very measured.

11:36 a.m. President Bush, Vice President Bush, and Cabinet walk onto platform (a reader notes: "DEFINITELY not handcuffed"). Bush shakes a few hands, makes small talk, "How you doin'?" (And somebody replies, "Keep up the good work.")

Bush is going through the motions, so looking forward to getting onto the helicopter for the airport.

11:34 a.m. Fact check (for 16th, 17th, and 18th times this morning): The Capitol was built by slaves.

11:30 a.m. And here comes, in his last 30 minutes as President, George W. Bush. Forgive me, but he looks fidgety, biting his lips and eyes darting about. He's struggling to pull it together for the cameras.

11:28 a.m. But, if Fox can't quite accept Clinton, our readers can accept George H.W. Bush: "I kinda liked Bush 41's purple scarf. Aptly Imperial."

11:25 a.m. Michelle Obama's mother and the Obamas' children walk onto the platform.

11:22 a.m. After Jimmy Carter and George H.W. Bush are introduced with their wives, Bill and Hillary Clinton are introduced to a huge cheer from the crowd.

Fox commentators are taken aback: "Just sends a thrill up your spine." Juan Carlos Williams, "Wow, the American people. Just reminds me --- we are a country who celebrates our leaders."

C'mon, gentlemen: say it. That crowd was celebrating a leader who happened to be Bill Clinton. Yep, the President that Fox trashed for eight years.

Chris Wallace: "Some people are happy about the events, some people not so happy, look...." And then, let's talk about the Lincoln Bible.

11:16 a.m. Former Presidents Carter, George H.W. Bush, and Clinton arriving on the platform.

11:13 a.m. Simple but essential reminder from a reader: "People need to see this happen. Hope is powerful."

11:06 a.m. CNN's Blitzer: This Inauguration could have a larger US television audience than the final episode of MASH (which, by the way, was a comedy series about the US embroiled in a never-ending war --- so no relevance there).

11:04 a.m. Useless Graphics Moment: Fox cuts away to animated shot of route that Obama will take through the Capitol to the platform. Thank goodness, they figured out that Michelle Obama's brother is on the platform so they could trash thousands of dollars of computer eyewash.

11:02 a.m. Supreme Court Justices walking onto the platform.

11 a.m. Kudos to Steven Spielberg: "I couldn't afford to do this shot in a movie."

10:55 a.m. What can you say over the footage of a motorcade going from White House to Capitol Hill?

1. Talk about previous rides that didn't go well --- Hoover and Roosevelt (1933), Truman and Eisenhower (1953)
2. Mention that manhole covers are welded shut and all postboxes removed
3. Wow, it's really cold.

10:48 a.m. Bush and Obama emerge from the White House to go to Capitol Hill. High-pitched screams of excitement. For Obama or for Bush?

10:45 a.m. Dick Cheney emerges in a wheelchair to go to the Inauguration.

Let's repeat that. Ted Kennedy is walking about on the Inauguration Platform, despite a brain tumour. Dick Cheney is in a wheelchair.

10:43 a.m. More CNN insight into Bush-Obama chats: "Do you think they talk substance? (Bush: "What do you say to going out a bang --- bomb Iran?" Obama: "Step aside, Dubya.") Or is light chit-chat?"

10:40 a.m. Senator Edward Kennedy, looking pretty well despite his battle with a brain tumour, arrives on the platform.

10:35 a.m. No News Moment: Chris Wallace on Fox, "See that motorcade. It doesn't include President Bush or President Obama."

10:25 a.m. Highlight for Fox reporter: crowd bouncing about and bobbing to giant-screen replay of Inaugural Concert. "You think about the inter-racial harmony of this day: Garth Brooks doing the Isley Brothers and moving hundreds of thousands of people."

Thus, one man's glorious harmony becomes another's vision of musical hell.

10:24 a.m. Fox reporter on the Mall: "I haven't seen a single individal misbehave....We have a table with coffee and doughnuts, and I haven't even seen a single person attack that table."

Hmmm....is the moral that Americans are angelic or that your coffee and doughnuts suck?

10:20 a.m. Fox's Jim Angle has just referred to the "3 Vs" of this day: "Validation, Vindiction, and Victory."

Yep, Vindiction.

10:19 a.m. VIPs arriving for the ceremony. Well, not that many VIPs and not that quickly. Fox has to settle for former Governor of California Jerry Brown.

10:17 a.m. OK, I Won't Forget: For the 15th time this morning, "Don't forget, the US Capitol was built by slaves."

10:15 a.m. The first suggestion for the Bush letter to Obama (see 9:58 am.) comes from "Rattal007" : "I want to be US Ambassador to Iraq."

If only. I think Dubya is settling for city life in Texas and whatever he can make from his memoirs (no doubt written all by himself).

10:10 a.m. Over on Fox, Carl Cameron is standing in the Capitol Rotunda. It (see 6:38 a.m.) is still empty.

10:05 a.m. CNN is offering both sublime and ridiculous.

Ridiculous from Wolf Blitzer as the Bushes greets the Obamas: "I wonder if the microphones on the scene caught any of the chit-chat. Every word now is historic." (Like Bush to Obama: "How are you?" Obama to Bush: "Step aside, Dubya. There's a new sheriff in town.")

"They call it a coffee. I don't know if they're drinking or what they're drinking, maybe hot chocolate, maybe tea, but they call it a coffee."

Sublime from David Gergen: "There was a time when it was brandy. We had a Vice President in 1865, Andrew Johnson, who got totally drunk. They almost had to kick him out of the Inaugural."

9:58 a.m. CNN reporters reveal: "When Barack Obama goes into the Oval Office, there on the desk will be a letter written to him from George W. Bush. Nobody knows what is in it." Any suggestions?

9:55 a.m. The crucial question (and answer) flashes across my computer screen: "Is Michelle Obama taller than George Bush? I think she is, at least in shoes."

9:54 a.m. And now He is entering the White House.

9:40 a.m. You Have Been Warned: Security agencies say once 350,000 people are on the Mall, the gates will be shut.

9:20 a.m. Don't Bring Me Down: Fox is speaking with Obama's political strategist, David Axelrod, and decided to focus on the "realities of the office": less than half of $30 billion of highway construction funds will be released into economy in next four years.

Sorta like the guy at your New Year's Party who wants to talk about the virtues of central heating systems.

9:10 a.m. Hope and Big Brother: After raving about the enthusiasm of the crowd, CNN spends a few minutes panning across the sniper teams on the roofs of buildings: "Anybody who has any intention of causing harm here knows they're under the watchful fire of the United States SecretService or the FBI or any other of the 58 agencies enlisted to provide security for this event."

9 p.m. CNN's coverage has just been lost in how impressive this is --- "We have never seen anything like this on the Mall." And, you know what? Even on a 25-inch TV (without High Definition), it is.

8:55 a.m. Who's the Heckler at the Back? Joseph Farah of WorldNetDaily:

I want Obama to fail because his agenda is 100 percent at odds with God's....Nowhere in the Bible does it teach us to obey evil rulers.

8:45 a.m. We see Him! We see Him! Barack and Michelle Obama emerge from Blair House to go to private church service. Apparently the Bidens are also there.

8:40 a.m. Advice of the Day: An 85-year-old suspected war criminal, a Mr H Kissinger, has emerged to tell Barack Obama the secret to US foreign policy ---- Use a Lot of Jargon:

The complexity of the emerging world requires from America a more historical approach than the insistence that every problem has a final solution expressible in programmes with specific time limits not infrequently geared to our political process. We must learn to operate within the attainable and be prepared to pursue ultimate ends by the accumulation of nuance. An international order can be permanent only if its participants have a share not only in building but also in securing it. In this manner, America and its potential partners have a unique opportunity to transform a moment of crisis into a vision of hope.

8:10 a.m. Fox is in feel-good mode, talking to American football legend Jim Brown, who is now with Amer-I-Can. Brown on Obama: "This is a great man."

7:50 a.m. One-Liner of the Day: as Dick Cheney attends the Inauguration in a wheelchair, either because he has strained his back or because he doesn't want to stand up for Obama: "His transformation to Bond villain is complete."

7:40 a.m. Culture of Fear alert: Newt Gingrich "There are some really bad people who wouldn't mind randomly causing damage on a day like this."

7:30 a.m. Obama's incoming Press Secretary Robert Gibbs has appeared both on CNN and Fox. He seems a lovely fellow, but the chat was so bland I can't remember a word of significance.

7:25 a.m. Fox is worried that Pastor Rick Warren, delivering the Inaugural Prayer, will not be allowed to mention "Jesus".

7:20 a.m. US commentary has descended from discussion of the weather to discussion of "how tough is it to get to the Mall?" Which is fortunate, since it is preventing Laura Ingraham on Fox from launching her standard rants about liberals.

7:03 a.m. Fox: apparently the crowds on the Mall moving towards the light of the Jumbo-Trons "is something akin to an alien landing".

6:53 a.m. That's more like it: Sky News in Britain is concentrating on Obama speech by talking to a bookmaker who's quoting odds on a mention of Hillary Clinton (6-5 on), British Prime Minister Gordon Brown (33/1), and hero pilot Chelsey Sullenberger (4/1). Oh, yes, you can also bet on whether Obama's tie will be red or blue.

6:48 a.m. Culture of Fear reminder: Thanks, CNN, for not letting go of this today. Ten minutes spent with "former Bush security advisor" on possibility of Obama being assassinated, people sneaking through security cordons, etc.

6:40 a.m. Shameless Self-Advertisement of the Day: Fox reporter now waxing lyrical about an empty museum, possibly because it's the "News History Museum" of News Corporation (owned by Rupert Murdoch, who just might have some connection with Fox)

6:38 a.m. Fox's intrepid reporters are breaking news by talking about the empty Inauguration Platform and the empty Capitol Rotunda.

6:30 a.m. Leaving a Man Behind: No Presidential pardon for the only Administration official to take a fall for Iraq, illegal surveillance, detention, torture, etc. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Vice President Cheney's former fixer and part-time novelist, will remain the Poster Jailbird.

6:25 a.m. Fox is now in its pattern for the day: pundits are shouting beyond comprehension at each other about "Obama's First 100 Hours", so they switch to a profile of actor Lorenzo Lamas (who?).

CNN's scheme at the moment is just to talk to "common people" and avoid shivering.

It's Morning in America (6 a.m. Washington time): CNN International is giving this the big festival/parade treatment, with on-the-ground reporters shouting, "It's insane!" (or possibly, "I'm insane!"), and constant temperature checks (20 degrees Fahrenheit at the moment --- not-insane anchorman yelling, "Remember in The March of the Penguins where the crowd huddles for warmth?"). Access to the mall wasn't supposed to start until 7 a.m. but thousands are sneaking in, apparently via some magic passage near the Washington Monument.

Fox News is preferring immediate political scrutiny, both to big up the outgoing President ("Is Obama Trying to Rehab Bush's Image?") and to jab at the incoming one with irrelevancies ("Did Jill Biden Spill the Beans on Her Husband as Possible Secretary of State?")