War Is Over (If You Want It). John Lennon wrote the lyrics in 1971. And if all goes as planned, American involvement in the war in Iraq could be over exactly 40 years later.

The Iraq government is poised to approve a plan which calls for the full withdrawal of American troops by the end of 2011. What does it really mean?

Noah Shactman at the Danger Room blog has one leading expert saying the Iraqis could merely approve a new plan which extends the stay past 2011... and another expert who says the plan leaves room for the Iraqis to ask for an American exit before 2011.

Foreign Policy Passport runs down other aspects of the agreement including a provision which would require American troops to get Iraqi warrants before making arrests.

The U.S. Defense Department divides the world up into different "commands." We hear a lot about Central Command because it has responsibility for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The newest part of the system is Africa Command, often referred to as AFRICOM. Previously, U.S. military operations in Africa were divided between three different command offices. AFRICOM is designed to give a coherent approach to America's presence across the continent... although the new designation has also been controversial.

AFRICOM was officially activated October 1. And last week, it carried out its first military exercise, a joint training event called Flintlock 2008.

AFRICOM is supposed to combine hard power (guns and bombs) with soft power (civil affairs). And Flintlock 2008 has both parts. It includes military-to-military training AND medical and veterinary clinics for locals in Mali.

Have you checked out the website of the "Office of the President-Elect"? Very cool.

And it is chock full of foreign policy information. It includes the Obama Administration's initial thoughts on:

• Ending the War in Iraq
• Protecting America
• Iran, Diplomacy, Nuclear Weapons, Israel, and Russia

Advice for the transition is pouring in from all corners. But some of the best foreign policy guidance is coming from the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. They have an ongoing series of papers aptly titled, "Foreign Policy for the Next President."

"Invested early on with the mantles of late icons, civil rights leader Martin Luther King and inspirational president John F Kennedy, Democrat Obama has ignited his country and the world with his message of hope, unity and change." (from AFP and The Independent of South Africa)

"Israel's Ehud Olmert, who considers himself to be a close, personal friend of U.S. President George W. Bush, the man from whose policies Obama promised he would rescue Americans, praised the president-elect's 'abilities and leadership skills,' opining that the U.S.-Israel relationship would 'grow stronger during the Obama administration era.'" (from MidEast Media Line)

"Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud 'Abbas echoed the Obama campaign slogan, expressing hope that Obama would bring 'change' that would 'bring peace.'" (from MidEast Media Line)

Tristram Hunt, a British historian, put it this way: Mr. Obama 'brings the narrative that everyone wants to return to — that America is the land of extraordinary opportunity and possibility, where miracles happen.'" (from The New York Times)

"I expect Obama to move very quickly to eliminate a major cause of the decline of respect for the US - the prison camps at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. I would be surprised if he does not announce within a few weeks of taking office that he is shutting down Guantanamo and transferring its prisoners to US facilities for some less irregular form of judicial process." (from Al Jazeera English)

"Barack Obama is the 'American Gorbachev' who will ultimately destroy the United States, militant Russian nationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky said on Tuesday." (from AFP and The Independent of South Africa)

The president has certain Constitutional responsibilities for America's relationship with the rest of the world. Among other things, he is commander-in-chief of the military, which gives him (or her) a lot of control over how the United States interacts with the world.

The president can also sign treaties and appoint ambassadors, but those actions require the consent of the U.S. Senate. Congress gets involved in foreign policy in other ways. And so do state and local governments, think tanks, nongovernmental organizations and more.

So who really makes U.S. foreign policy?

Foreign Policy magazine has asked ten leading Americans to say who they would appoint to the top positions in the next presidential cabinet. The thinkers include Robert Gallucci, Les Gelb, Shahshi Tharoor, and more. The offices they are asked to consider filling are National Security Adviser, Secretary of State, Secretary of the Treasury, Secretary of Defense, and Director of National Intelligence.

Some of the suggestions include Strobe Talbott, Indra Nooyi, Michael Bloomberg, one dead person, and many more.

The magazine is even offering you the chance to name your own dream cabinet.

Elsewhere, Charlie Brown at Undiplomatic gives a detailed look at who he thinks would fill key foreign policy posts in an Obama Administration.

Closely related to all this, Steve Clemons at The Washington Note has heard speculation that if Senator Obama wins, he could announce key members of his cabinet just three days after the elections. Clemons taps John Kerry as a potential Secretary of State.

The blogosphere is full of great resources on U.S. foreign policy. Some of it is analysis, some is opinion, and some is on-the-ground reporting. Read my recommendations. Or jump straight to the blogs I ingest every day:

• Foreign Policy Passport
• The Washington Note
• Undiplomatic
• Democracy Arsenal
• Abu Aardvark

Here are some very good articles and insights I have come across on the World Wide Web in recent days:

• No Stopping The Pirates (But Darnit, We'll Try). Foreign Policy Passport looks at the growing piracy threat off the coast of Somalia.
• Mapping the Pentagon's Global Footprint. This map from Mother Jones magazine depicts American military presence around the world from 1950 to today.
• US Campaign Bypasses Foreign Policy. The BBC says, "...out on the campaign trail, foreign policy appears to have all but disappeared as an issue in this race."
• Tough Times May Mean Less Aid (But It Should Be Better Aid). The Switchblog examines how the global economic crisis will lead to decreased foreign aid funding.
• Profile or Iran and State Sponsored Terrorism. About.com's Amy Zallman breaks down the connections.
• To the Hills! The Election Monitors Are Coming! Charlie Brown at the Undiplomatic pokes holes in the hysteria around the news that international election monitors will be in the United States on November 4 (at the invitation of the Bush Administration).

Someone, somewhere once quipped that the debate they would really like to see is between Senator John McCain (R-AZ) and his running mate, Governor Sarah Palin (R-AK). They disagree on global warming, Pakistan, and Arctic drilling. And now we can add at least one more item to that list.

Palin supports the Law of the Sea Treaty. McCain supported it for ten years, and then changed position as his presidential campaign began late last year. In responding to a survey from the Iowa Christian Alliance, McCain said he opposes the treaty.

Palin, on the other hand, has sent at least one letter to the U.S. Senate urging ratification of the treaty. She said, "If the U.S. does not ratify the convention, the opportunity to pursue our own claims to offshore areas in the Arctic Ocean might well be lost. As a consequence, our rightful claims to hydrocarbons, minerals, and other natural resources could be ignored."

Palin's position is supported by President Bush, the U.S. Navy, and 155 other countries. Will she be able to persuade McCain?

(Hat tip to Scott Paul and The Washington Note for pulling together the threads of this story.)

Published reports indicate President Bush has agreed to remove North Korea from the United States' terror blacklist. Apparently the deal hinges on North Korea allowing international inspection of its nuclear reactors.

More

• U.S. to remove N. Korea from terror list, from Associated Press
• Rice in Top-Level Consultations on North Korean Nuclear Impasse, from Voice of America
• McCain Slams Plan to Change Stance on North Korea, from Wall Street Journal blogs
• North Korea to leave axis of evil, from the Scotsman
• Timeline of U.S.-North Korean Relations
• Profile of U.S.-North Korean Relations