Renewing American Leadership - Barack Obama
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After thousands of lives lost and billions
of dollars spent, many Americans may be tempted to turn inward and cede our leadership
in world affairs. But this is a mistake we must not make. America cannot meet the
threats of this century alone, and the world cannot meet them without America. We
can neither retreat from the world nor try to bully it into submission. We must
lead the world, by deed and by example.
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the security and well-being of each and every American depend
on the security and well-being of those who live beyond our borders. The mission
of the United States is to provide global leadership grounded in the understanding
that the world shares a common security and a common humanity.
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To see American power in terminal decline is to ignore America's
great promise and historic purpose in the world
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The best chance we have to leave Iraq a better
place is to pressure these warring parties to find a lasting political solution.
And the only effective way to apply this pressure is to begin a phased withdrawal
of U.S. forces, with the goal of removing all combat brigades from Iraq by March
31, 2008 -- a date consistent with the goal set by the bipartisan Iraq Study Group.
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To gain credibility in this effort, we must make clear that we seek
no permanent bases in Iraq. We should leave behind only a minimal over-the-horizon
military force in the region to protect American personnel and facilities, continue
training Iraqi security forces, and root out al Qaeda.
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Changing the dynamic
in Iraq will allow us to focus our attention and influence on resolving the festering
conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians -- a task that the Bush administration
neglected for years.
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In recent years, they have
all too often looked in vain. Our starting point must always be a clear and strong
commitment to the security of Israel, our strongest ally in the region and its only
established democracy.
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Now more than ever, we must
strive to secure a lasting settlement of the conflict with two states living side
by side in peace and security. To do so, we must help the Israelis identify and
strengthen those partners who are truly committed to peace, while isolating those
who seek conflict and instability.
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Tough-minded diplomacy,
backed by the whole range of instruments of American power -- political, economic,
and military -- could bring success even when dealing with long-standing adversaries
such as Iran and Syria.
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Although we must not rule out using military force, we should not hesitate
to talk directly to Iran. Our diplomacy should aim to raise the cost for Iran of
continuing its nuclear program by applying tougher sanctions and increasing pressure
from its key trading partners.
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At the same time, we
must show Iran -- and especially the Iranian people -- what could be gained from
fundamental change: economic engagement, security assurances, and diplomatic relations.
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Diplomacy combined with pressure could also reorient Syria away from its radical
agenda to a more moderate stance -- which could, in turn, help stabilize Iraq, isolate
Iran, free Lebanon from Damascus' grip, and better secure Israel.
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A strong military
is, more than anything, necessary to sustain peace.
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We must use this moment both to rebuild our
military and to prepare it for the missions of the future.
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We should expand our ground forces
by adding 65,000 soldiers to the army and 27,000 marines.
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We must recruit the very best and invest in their
capacity to succeed. That means providing our servicemen and servicewomen with first-rate
equipment, armor, incentives, and training -- including in foreign languages and
other critical skills.
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I will not
hesitate to use force, unilaterally if necessary, to protect the American people
or our vital interests whenever we are attacked or imminently threatened.
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We must also consider using military
force in circumstances beyond self-defense in order to provide for the common security
that underpins global stability -- to support friends, participate in stability
and reconstruction operations, or confront mass atrocities. But when we do use force
in situations other than self-defense, we should make every effort to garner the
clear support and participation of others
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Finally, we must develop a strong international
coalition to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons and eliminate North Korea's
nuclear weapons program. Iran and North Korea could trigger regional arms races,
creating dangerous nuclear flashpoints in the Middle East and East Asia. In confronting
these threats, I will not take the military option off the table. But our first measure
must be sustained, direct, and aggressive diplomacy -- the kind that the Bush administration
has been unable and unwilling to use.
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We must refocus our efforts on Afghanistan
and Pakistan
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We should
pursue an integrated strategy that reinforces our troops in Afghanistan and works
to remove the limitations placed by some NATO allies on their forces. Our strategy
must also include sustained diplomacy to isolate the Taliban and more effective development
programs that target aid to areas where the Taliban are making inroads.
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To defeat al Qaeda, I will
build a twenty-first-century military and twenty-first-century partnerships as strong
as the anticommunist alliance that won the Cold War to stay on the offense everywhere
from Djibouti to Kandahar.
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Finally, we need a comprehensive strategy
to defeat global terrorists -- one that draws on the full range of American power,
not just our military might. As a senior U.S. military commander put it, when people
have dignity and opportunity, "the chance of extremism being welcomed greatly, if
not completely, diminishes." It is for this reason that we need to invest with our
allies in strengthening weak states and helping to rebuild failed ones.
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To empower forces of moderation, America
must make every effort to export opportunity -- access to education and health care,
trade and investment -- and provide the kind of steady support for political reformers
and civil society that enabled our victory in the Cold War. Our beliefs rest on
hope; the extremists' rest on fear. That is why we can -- and will -- win this struggle.
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But today, NATO's challenge in Afghanistan has
exposed, as Senator Lugar has put it, "the growing discrepancy between NATO's
expanding missions and its lagging capabilities." To close this gap, I will rally
our NATO allies to contribute more troops to collective security operations
and to invest more in reconstruction and stabilization capabilities.
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I will work to forge a more effective framework
in Asia that goes beyond bilateral agreements, occasional summits, and ad hoc arrangements,
such as the six-party talks on North Korea. We need an inclusive infrastructure
with the countries in East Asia that can promote stability and prosperity and help
confront transnational threats, from terrorist cells in the Philippines to avian
flu in Indonesia.
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To that end, the United Nations requires
far-reaching reform. The UN Secretariat's management practices remain weak. Peacekeeping
operations are overextended. The new UN Human Rights Council has passed eight
resolutions condemning Israel -- but not a single resolution condemning the genocide
in Darfur or human rights abuses in Zimbabwe. Yet none of these problems will be
solved unless America rededicates itself to the organization and its mission.
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People around the world have heard a great
deal of late about freedom on the march. Tragically, many have come to associate
this with war, torture, and forcibly imposed regime change. To build a better, freer
world, we must first behave in ways that reflect the decency and aspirations of
the American people. This means ending the practices of shipping away prisoners
in the dead of night to be tortured in far-off countries, of detaining thousands
without charge or trial, of maintaining a network of secret prisons to jail people
beyond the reach of the law.
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We need to invest in building capable, democratic states that
can establish healthy and educated communities, develop markets, and generate wealth.
Such states would also have greater institutional capacities to fight terrorism,
halt the spread of deadly weapons, and build health-care infrastructures to prevent,
detect, and treat deadly diseases such as HIV/AIDS, malaria, and avian flu.
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As president, I will double our annual
investment in meeting these challenges to $50 billion by 2012 and ensure that those
new resources are directed toward worthwhile goals.
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I will couple our support with an insistent call
for reform, to combat the corruption that rots societies and governments from within.
I will do so not in the spirit of a patron but in the spirit of a partner -- a partner
mindful of his own imperfections.
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Confronted by Hitler, Roosevelt said that
our power would be "directed toward ultimate good as well as against immediate evil.
We Americans are not destroyers; we are builders." It is time for a president who
can build consensus here at home for an equally ambitious course.
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