The Great Leap Backwards
October 1st, 2009
BY: Craig Edwards Solid Principles Co-Founder
During our most recent Solid Principles Podcast, John Cronin discussed the weak points of Obama's foreign policy. Obama's campaign website did contain some token points about his views on foreign policy. Thanks to the gift of Internet Archive, we can view these 'High School Year Book' moments of Candidate Obama.
IRAQ
Judgment You Can Trust: As a candidate for the United States Senate in 2002, Obama put his political career on the line to oppose going to war in Iraq, and warned of “an occupation of undetermined length, with undetermined costs, and undetermined consequences.” Obama has been a consistent, principled and vocal opponent of the war in Iraq:
In 2003 and 2004, he spoke out against the war on the campaign trail; In 2005, he called for a phased withdrawal of our troops; In 2006, he called for a timetable to remove our troops, a political solution within Iraq, and aggressive diplomacy with all of Iraq's neighbors; In January 2007, he introduced legislation in the Senate to remove all of our combat troops from Iraq by March 2008. In September 2007, he laid out a detailed plan for how he will end the war as president.
CURRENT STATUS: According to CBS NEWS - Consider Iraq, where the president has taken a half step away from his campaign pledge that getting out would be his first priority in office. During his 2008 presidential run, Mr. Obama promised supporters the immediate withdrawal of one to two brigades of combat troops from Iraq every month, with an eye toward finishing the pullout by the end of this year. The new plan envisions the end of combat operations by September 2010. The U.S. will still keep a 50,000-troop "transition force" - Obama At War: The Candidate Vs. The Prez CBS News September 21, 2009.
There was no reference to Afghanistan or removing troops from Afghanistan on Candidate Obama's Foreign policy.
IRAN
Iran has sought nuclear weapons, supports militias inside Iraq and terror across the region, and its leaders threaten Israel and deny the Holocaust. But Obama believes that we have not exhausted our non-military options in confronting this threat; in many ways, we have yet to try them. That's why Obama stood up to the Bush administration's warnings of war, just like he stood up to the war in Iraq.
CURRENT STATUS: Now the warning of war, relates to this statement given by President Bush in December 2007 (note the similarities to Obama's Iran statement at the G20 Sumitt).
Look, Iran was dangerous, Iran is dangerous, and Iran will be dangerous if they have the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon. The NIE says that Iran had a hidden -- a covert nuclear weapons program. That's what it said. What's to say they couldn't start another covert nuclear weapons program? And the best way to ensure that the world is peaceful in the future is for the international community to continue to work together to say to the Iranians, we're going to isolate you. However, there is a better way forward for the Iranians.
President G.W Bush - Press Conference by the President December 4, 2007
We are here to announce that yesterday in Vienna, the United States, the United Kingdom, and France presented detailed evidence to the IAEA demonstrating that the Islamic Republic of Iran has been building a covert uranium enrichment facility near Qom for several years. Earlier this week, the Iranian government presented a letter to the IAEA that made reference to a new enrichment facility, years after they had started its construction. The existence of this facility underscores Iran's continuing unwillingness to meet its obligations under U.N. Security Council resolutions and IAEA requirements. We expect the IAEA to immediately investigate this disturbing information, and to report to the IAEA Board of Governors.
President Obama - G20 Summit - September 25, 2009
BIPARTISANSHIP
Obama will convene a bipartisan Consultative Group of leading members of Congress to foster better executive-legislative relations and bipartisan unity on foreign policy. This group will be comprised of the congressional leadership of both political parties, and the chair and ranking members of the Armed Services, Foreign Relations, Intelligence, and Appropriations Committees. This group will meet with the president once a month to review foreign policy priorities, and will be consulted in advance of military action.
CURRENT STATUS: If the Healthcare Reform is anything to go by, don't expect any Republican involvement in this promise.
ISRAEL
Barack Obama strongly supports the U.S.-Israel relationship, believes that our first and incontrovertible commitment in the Middle East must be to the security of Israel, America's strongest ally in the Middle East. Obama supports this closeness, stating that that the United States would never distance itself from Israel.
CURRENT STATUS: Relations between the White House & Israel have never been lower with Obama insisting on settlement freezes and pushing Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations.
