Richard Danzig: How Obama Would Handle Putin.(The Last Word)(Richard Danzig on Barack Obama's policy on Russia)(Interview)

Byline: Adam B. Kushner

The Russians isolate themselves from the world and suffer. Making the rhetoric inflammatory is not helpful.

At the Democratic presidential nominating convention in Denver last week, Richard Danzig, a top national-security adviser to Barack Obama, seemed to be everywhere. The former Navy secretary reassured visiting diplomats, rapped with security experts and made the case that Obama's foreign policy is more complex than his detractors have made it out to be. He chatted with NEWSWEEK's Adam B. Kushner at a hotel near Invesco Field, where Obama accepted the Democratic nod Thursday night. Excerpts:

Kushner: You were on Obama's first world tour. Why do you think that, except for the rules of diplomatic protocol, Obama was generally received like a head of state rather than a candidate?

Danzig: His message is very appealing abroad--multilateralism, unity with our allies and talking candidly. He was very good at saying, "I've heard you," and repeating back to people what they said integrated into his own views, and they found it very credible. I don't want to overstate the degree to which America's standing in the world is carried by single personalities, but Barack Obama showed he had presidential stature.

You say we need to increase the diplomatic and cultural complement in Iraq. But staff from USAID and State refuse to be deployed there. Why is that different under Obama?

Increase the manpower. The total State Department Foreign Service has about 6,000 people. It's a small number, given our worldwide obligations. If you add numbers, you can allocate more people to language and cultural training, for example. But there's no miraculous fix, and these cultural things take time for change.