Picking up where I left off, if Barack Obama wins the election November 4th, what do I think that will look like in areas of foreign policy?
The most talked about part of the foreign policy debate is our mission in Iraq. Barack has been promising that his plan will involve removing our troops in sixteen months. That sounds attractive to me. But, I worry that it's not in the best interest of the mission, the Iraqi people, and the ongoing war against terror. Let me expound: I'm not going to argue about whether we should or should not have gotten into this war in the first place. I believe we were right to act, but that isn't the issue facing our next President and his administration. What's at stake here is the future in Iraq and our ongoing battle with terrorism. I am of the mind (as has been clearly stated by our generals on the ground) that setting a time and date for our complete withdrawal is simply handing our enemies a victory - they know exactly how long they need to persevere in this battle until they can move in unobstructed. In all honesty, I don't think this (sixteen month withdrawal promise) is a promise Barack Obama can keep even if he is elected. I think when he is able to have the same intelligence reports that the present administration has and dialogues with the military commanders on the field, he will understand this more clearly. Let me be clear - I want an exit strategy. I want that exit strategy to be "when the job is done". And I believe we're making progress towards that end.
As I said, Iraq is the most talked about foreign policy matter, but I don't think it's the most important. The situations in other parts of the world that are rising concerns seem more important to me. The fact that we have a nutcase in Iran promising to wipe Israel off the face of the earth and on the verge of acquiring weapons with which to do it; the fact that we have whacko dictators in oil rich countries that are filthy rich because of U.S. dependency on their oil (Chavez would be a vagrant in mere days were the U.S. to stop buying Venezuelan oil); the fact that we have growing uncertainty in our relationships with Russia and China - these and other things on the horizon concern me most.
Barack Obama has spoken of diplomacy and discussion in these settings. I like the idea of diplomacy. I worry that Barack Obama doesn't really understand just who we're dealing with, however, and that there is a necessity of diplomatic integrity. No matter how he retreats from the statement, I heard him with my own ears speaking about sitting down with Iran's dictator without pre-condition. That would, in the eyes of rogue leaders and governments everywhere, legitimize terrorist regimes.
The energy issue (our dependence on foreign oil) is a huge part of foreign affairs. Energy is behind the aggression of Russia against former Soviet states. Energy (as I said earlier) makes some of these dictators into the powers that they are and keeps them there. And frankly, I think the Democrats are all wrong on their approach to easing our dependence on foreign oil. I cannot remain non-partisan with my opinion on it. Sorry.
Finally two things that I think are related: the war on terror and America's reputation with folks around the world. I think of these two things as related because, as I've traveled around the world, our global reputation is always tied to the war on terror. No one, for instance, is heard saying, "I hate America because they give more money to the poor around the globe than the next three nations on the list combined." No one goes on record with, "America is a bully because their humanitarian and relief flights are always on the ground first when disaster strikes anywhere in the world." Let me also be so bold as to assert that the U.S.A. is pretty widely respected by much of the world, too. Have you noticed that most of those who speak so loudly against the U.S. tend to be Islamic states? Take an inventory.
Say what you will about this present administration and its ineptitude. We haven't had another 9/11. Though our enemies have promised and promised - how many tapes and vhs messages have they sent forth from their cave in the last seven years? The fact is that Osama bin Laden and his friends used to rule Afghanistan and have serious sway over the government in a handful of other sympathetic regimes. Now, they have control of a network of caves in the mountains of Pakistan, and a supply of cassette tapes and a video recorder. Think about this for a moment: your fourteen year old can produce a full length rock-n-roll album on his Apple Computer with Garage Band and become a rock-star on YouTube and MySpace Music. Bin Laden and his friends are sending out grainy recordings on data tapes. My friends, we are safer today than we were seven years ago.
For my thinking, Barack Obama doesn't understand this. I worry that, should he win on November 4th, we will be making some mis-steps in the area of foreign policy. Still, I believe he's a very smart man. I believe that he will listen to voices of those with greater perspective. At least I hope that's the case.
Next time out I will speak once more of a Barack Obama administration and some of the concerns I have in the area of moral issues. Then I'll start in on John McCain and run the same track - domestic, foreign and moral matters. So stay tuned.
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