by CKR
Continuing my series on foreign policy statements by the presidential candidates, here’s my short version of John Edwards’s statement in Foreign Affairs. (Obama, Romney, Richardson) Same ground rules. Read Edwards’s essay.
Terrorism
• Confront terrorist groups such as al Qaeda with the full force of our military might.
• Apply the full extent of our security apparatus to protect our vital interests, take measures to root out terrorist cells, and strike swiftly and forcefully against those who seek to harm us.
Iraq
• Bring the Iraq war to an end. Immediately withdraw 40,000 to 50,000 U.S. combat troops from Iraq, followed by an orderly and complete withdrawal of all combat troops.
• Retain sufficient forces in the region to prevent a genocide, a regional spillover of the civil war, or the establishment of an al Qaeda safe haven, most likely quick-reaction forces in Kuwait and a significant naval presence in the Persian Gulf, along with security capabilities in Baghdad, inside the Green Zone, to protect the U.S. embassy and U.S. personnel.
• Engage the rest of the world via a diplomatic offensive—including Middle Eastern nations and our allies in Europe—in working to secure Iraq's future.
Darfur
• President Bush should convene an emergency meeting of NATO's leadership to provide assistance to a UN deployment of 3,000 troops, backed by logistical, operational, and financial support.
• NATO must establish a no-fly zone over the region to cut off supplies to the brutal Janjaweed militias and end the Sudanese government's bombing of civilians in Darfur.
• NATO member states should also impose a new round of multilateral sanctions on the Sudanese government and freeze the foreign assets of individuals complicit in the genocide.
• The United States must employ the U.S. military—our airlift capabilities, logistical support, and intelligence systems—to assist UN and African Union peacekeeping efforts in Darfur.
• Continue to pressure other countries with influence in the region, such as China, to meet their own responsibilities to help end this conflict.
Nuclear Weapons
• Use engagement and diplomacy with the Iranian and North Korean leaders. Deal with Iran directly.
• Employ an effective combination of carrots and sticks with Iran. For example, right now we must do everything we can to isolate Iran's leader from the moderate forces within the country.
• Contain Iran's nuclear ambitions through diplomatic measures that will, over time, force Iran to understand that the international community will not allow it to possess nuclear weapons.
• Continue to work with other great powers to offer Tehran economic incentives for good behavior.
• Use much more serious economic sanctions to deter Ahmadinejad's government when it refuses to cooperate.
• Engage the North Korean government directly, through the six-party framework, placing economic and political incentives on the table in exchange for the verified, complete elimination of North Korea's nuclear weapons capabilities.
• Create a new Global Nuclear Compact to bolster the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, which would support peaceful nuclear programs, improve security for existing stocks of nuclear materials, and ensure more frequent verification that materials are not being diverted and nuclear facilities are not being misused.
• Halt the trade of the most dangerous technologies by the most dangerous states and increase the amount of money we spend on cooperative threat-reduction programs in the former Soviet republics.
• Strengthen our nation's capacity to identify and respond to WMD threats by reforming the ways the U.S. government collects and analyzes intelligence and by giving the intelligence community the resources it needs.
International Relations
• Adapt our most important international leadership organizations, such as the G-8, to include new major players.
• Reform the UN so that there is a place for India on the Security Council and working with India to help it achieve a credible and transparent plan to permanently separate its civilian and military nuclear programs.
• Maintain strong partnerships with longtime allies, including the United Kingdom, Japan, and the transforming European Union, as well as work to rebuild the long-neglected relationships with our neighbors throughout Latin America.
• Stand by our ally and partner Israel, ensuring its security while doing everything in our power to bring peace and stability to the region.
• Get China to commit to the rules that govern the conduct of nations on issues such as trade, climate change, and human rights.
• Initiate a new era of selective cooperation with Russia on particular issues, such as Iran, energy, and nuclear nonproliferation, while preserving our ability to disagree and push for change on other issues, such as our concerns about increasing authoritarianism in Russia and potential Russian-Chinese cooperation.
• Draw Russia into the Western political mainstream through continued engagement and, when necessary, diplomatic and economic pressure.
The US Military
• Military professionals will have primary responsibility in matters of tactics and operations, while civilian leaders will have authority over political decisions and in all matters of broad strategy.
• Rebalance our forces to ensure that the size and capabilities of our military match its missions. We must have enough troops to bolster deterrence, to decrease our heavy reliance on National Guard and Reserve members in overseas missions, to provide additional support in Afghanistan, and to deploy to other trouble spots when necessary.
• Double the budget for recruitment and raise the standards for the recruitment pool so that we can reduce our reliance on felony waivers and other exceptions.
• Increase our investment in the maintenance of our equipment for the safety of our troops.
• Guarantee quality health care for our servicemen and servicewomen and every generation of veterans, provide families with the support they need, and ensure that returning troops have access to the education and opportunities necessary to succeed in civilian life.
• Create a national security budget with a unified strategy that includes all security programs at the Pentagon and the Department of Energy, as well as our homeland security, intelligence, and foreign affairs agencies.
Foreign Aid
• To resolve problems like the tsunami that hit Southeast Asia in 2004, the troubled status of the government in Afghanistan, and the need for a functioning infrastructure in Iraq , establish a Marshall Corps, named for our greatest secretary of state, General George Marshall. The Marshall Corps, patterned after the military reserves, will consist of at least 10,000 civilian experts who could be deployed abroad to serve in reconstruction, stabilization, and humanitarian missions.
• Increase US funding for global primary education sixfold, with a $3 billion annual effort to educate poor children in countries with a history of violent extremism.
• Through the U.S. Agency for International Development and multilateral aid organizations, pursue reform of the school systems in developing countries, working to eliminate school fees and required expenses for books and uniforms, which effectively bar millions of children from enrolling; investing in teacher education, classroom expansion, and teaching materials; and helping to provide safe and hygienic facilities for all students.
• Add $750 million annually for microcredit programs.
• Reverse the spread of AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria by guaranteeing universal access to preventive drugs and treatment by 2010.
• Substantially increase U.S. funding for clean-water programs.
• Lead an international effort to dramatically increase preventive care, beginning with increased vaccinations and the provision of sterile equipment and basic medications.
• Create a new cabinet-level position to coordinate global development policies across the government.
• Replace the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 with a Global Development Act to modernize and consolidate development assistance, and ask Congress to improve its oversight and revamp its committee structure so that it can be a more effective partner in this effort.