Defining an Effective Foreign Policy | Winning the War Against the Terrorists | Iran | North Korea | Engaging the People’s Republic of China | Standing by Our Ally, Israel | More Information about National Security
Defining an Effective Foreign Policy
United States foreign policy should promote the core American values of democracy, protection of individual rights and freedoms, and respect for the rule of law. Nations adhering to those principles not only are better allies, but contribute to greater global stability.
Our foreign policy should be designed to:
- defeat terrorism;
- limit the spread of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons and the means to deliver them;
- check the ambitions of potentially aggressive nations;
- maintain good relationships with key allies, such as Israel and Taiwan, in strategic regions; and
- protect American sovereignty.
I also support a foreign policy that promotes:
- a missile defense system capable of defending our country and our allies against the threat of ballistic missile launch by terrorists or rogue nations, like North Korea and Iran, and accidental or authorized launches from countries such as China;
- expansion of the NATO alliance to include those nations that want its protection, that are committed to democracy, and that are willing to assume the alliance’s obligations; and
- reform of the United Nations as a condition of continuing America’s sizable financial support of that organization.
I support free and fair trade with other nations because it benefits both American consumers and producers, and promotes economic and political stability abroad that serves our national interest. The mutual benefits of free trade will only be fully realized, though, if our trading partners adhere to the rule of law, including the protection of intellectual property rights, and adversaries are denied sensitive technologies with military applications that may be turned against us.
I oppose efforts by the United Nations and other international bodies that would infringe on our nation’s sovereignty or threaten national interests. That includes the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which could encroach on U.S. sovereignty, limit the freedom of movement of U.S. armed forces, and lead to unprecedented taxation powers for new global bureaucracies.
I believe the American people are generous and are willing to support those in need around the world with foreign aid; however, their generosity is not limitless, especially in tough economic times.
The war against the terrorists requires a rethinking of all of the assumptions that guided U.S. defense and foreign policies during the Cold War era. We no longer confront an enemy at a fixed location whose goals and activities are easily ascertained. Our new adversaries make up a shadowy network that operates across national borders with little regard for the rule of law or even the intrinsic value of innocent human life.
Victory in the war against the terrorists requires an increased commitment of resources to our military, intelligence, and law-enforcement communities, and an unprecedented degree of cooperation between law-enforcement and intelligence agencies at home and abroad. It requires that we find, disrupt, and eliminate terrorist cells throughout the world in an effort to deny them the capability of launching attacks, and that we confront the dictatorial regimes that encourage, harbor, train, or equip the terrorists.
The war against the terrorists will be waged in a variety of ways and take us to many different places far beyond our shores. Sometimes, we will work in concert with foreign intelligence agencies to thwart potential plots against our homeland. Other times, we will have to confront “charities” that serve as a front for funding terrorist operations. The increased efforts of our intelligence and law enforcement assets have helped keep our nation safe from terrorist attack since 9/11.
To help enhance public understanding of the nature of the global threat we face, Senator Joe Lieberman and I serve as honorary cochairmen of a bipartisan education and advocacy group called the Committee on the Present Danger (CPD). The CPD’s mission is to increase public knowledge about the radical terrorists and the ideology that motivates them. Its membership includes over 100 former White House officials, ambassadors, Cabinet secretaries, Senators and House members, academics, writers, and other foreign policy experts. CPD members publish articles and books, testify before Congress, deliver speeches, and work in other ways to alert the American people and political leaders to the dangers of terrorism.
While diplomacy and the peaceful resolution of differences will always be the preferred course of action, our nation must be prepared to use its military power when necessary to defend of lives of our citizens and soldiers, as well as the security of the nation itself. The tragedy of the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon illustrate that the terrorist threat to our country is real and that terrorists must be confronted before they have the opportunity to launch further attacks on our homeland or American interests.
Iran is ruled by a radical regime that is hostile to the United States and our allies, particularly the state of Israel, which it has threatened on numerous occasions to “wipe off the face of the map.” Its zealous and illegal pursuit of nuclear weapons – and its leaders’ propensity to violence – threatens the very security of the Middle East, and could put U.S. troops and our European allies within reach of a nuclear strike.
The ruthlessness of the Iranian regime can be seen even in its treatment of its own citizens, who were met with violence after they took to the streets to peacefully protest the validity of Iran’s presidential election in June. The world will never forget the image of young Neda Soltan, who was murdered by paramilitary police at a protest in Tehran. Tragically, others lost their lives as well. The regime suppressed press coverage of the protests in Iran and expelled many foreign journalists from the country. Students were brutally beaten in their dorms for participating in the protests, and others were arrested, with the Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami going so far as to suggest that protestors be considered as “mohareb,” or people who wage war against God. Under Islamic law, the punishment for waging war against God is death.
The United States must oppose these despicable acts by the Iranian government. It must also be wary of conferring any legitimacy on the Iranian regime by engaging it in negotiations regarding its nuclear weapons program and support for terrorism, especially at the very time that it is ruthlessly crushing the pro-democracy movement in Iran. A regime that brutalizes its own people cannot be trusted to deal honestly with other countries. Moreover, there is probably nothing the United States can offer the mullahs in Tehran that they want as much as nuclear weapons.
To support the pro-democracy forces in Iran, the United States should impose tough, new sanctions against the ruling regime. Although Iran is one of the world’s largest producers of oil, its limited refining capacity leaves it dependent on other countries for up to 40 percent of the petroleum products it consumes. With that in mind, I cosponsored legislation with Senators Bayh and Lieberman – a bill now cosponsored by more than 60 Senators – that would sanction companies that export gasoline to Iran and invest in that country’s energy sector. This legislation will present those who supply energy to Iran with a choice: either do business with Iran’s $250 billion a year economy or the United States’s $13 trillion economy, but not both.
The increasingly belligerent and unpredictable behavior of the North Korean regime threatens peace on the Korean peninsula, the security of other nations in the region, and indeed the very security of the United States. The North Koreans have pulled out of the Six-Party negotiations, restarted their nuclear program, test-launched several ballistic missiles, and conducted a suspected underground nuclear test. The regime of Kim Jong Il has even declared that it has now abandoned the armistice that brought a cease fire to the Korean War.
Deputy Defense Secretary William Lynn testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee in June that the North Korean regime could have nuclear weapons capable of hitting the United States in as few as three years. Clearly, the United States must be prepared for this threat, including with a robust missile defense system that can protect American citizens from any attack.
We should also return North Korea to the state sponsor of terrorism list, re-impose financial sanctions on both high-level North Korean officials and banks affiliated with the North Korean government, and expand defense and nonproliferation initiatives.
Of course, the United States should also work with the international community to enlist its support for increasing pressure on the North Koreans. But given the North Koreans’ disregard for past United Nations resolutions and the multilateral Six-Party talks, we should not rely solely on the international body to protect our national interests and the security of our citizens. We must confront this threat and use all leverage available to force North Korea to end its belligerent behavior and comply with its obligations under previous U.N. resolutions and international agreements.
Engagement with the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is inevitable, especially in regional matters such as those involving North Korea, where the Chinese have both a significant interest and responsibility in ensuring that the regime of Kim Jong-Il lives up to its commitments to disband its nuclear programs. Trade with China continues to expand, though economic opportunities should never blind us to China’s dismal record on human rights or the threat we face from that country’s communist regime.
A 2008 Department of Defense report on China's military power indicates that China is continuing to build its forces at a growing rate in an effort to achieve a more powerful position in the region. Its successful test of anti-satellite weapons that could disrupt U.S. military capabilities is troubling, as is the evidence of a significant and concerted program of cyberwarfare run by the People’s Liberation Army.
Bellicosity from Beijing and continued military expansion also threaten the security of our nation’s strategic and democratic partner, Taiwan. The entire international community, not just the United States, has an interest in keeping the Taiwan Strait peaceful. I will continue to back efforts to strengthen the relationship between the United States and Taiwan that is codified in the Taiwan Relations Act.
In a world where most international relationships are forged for tactical reasons, the United States and Israel enjoy a true friendship. The reason is not hard to understand. Israel, like the United States, represents something that our enemies cannot tolerate: a thriving democracy, which, in Israel’s case, is right in their midst.
Israel, in fact, is the most well-established democracy in the Middle East. It accords rights to women and elects its leaders by a true democratic vote. Schools in Israel do not teach children to support the destruction of Arab countries, or compare the United States to Satan. The Israeli media are free to write and report what they want. Israeli citizens can say what they think, denounce their government policies, stage protests, and read and write whatever they please.
Recognizing that it is in our nations’ mutual interest to maintain and strengthen this relationship, members of the United States Congress and the Israeli Knesset cooperate regularly on a range of issues. Senator Dianne Feinstein and I serve as cochairmen of the U.S.-Israel Joint Parliamentary Committee on National Security and work with our counterparts from the Knesset to advance our countries’ common security interests.
The work of the Joint Parliamentary Committee became especially important after the 2006 election of a Hamas-dominated Palestinian government. Hamas has been designated a terrorist organization by the United States and has committed countless acts of violence against the Israeli people as part of its self-declared mission of destroying the Jewish state. Peace in the Middle East and Palestinian statehood depend on Hamas renouncing terrorism, respecting Israel’s right to exist, and engaging in peaceful political activity.
I invite you to visit the National Security section of this website to learn more about my views about defense and the security challenges that face the United States.
