Richardson big speech today

By Aziz P. -
Richardson is going to give a major foreign policy address today at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, titled "The New Realism and the Rebirth of American Leadership". The speech will outline his foreign policy vision as follows:

1. Repairing international alliances by working with traditional allies and reengaging them in our foreign policy;

2. Renew the U.S. commitment to international law and treaties, including abiding by the Geneva Convention, shutting down Guantanamo, rejecting torture as a policy device;

3. A "wholesale assault" to reduce global warming, including going beyond the Kyoto protocols in establishing national benchmarks for enivronmental protection;

4. Engage our enemies by having direct talks with North Korea, Iran, and Syria;

5. Refocus on the "real international threats" including nuclear proliferation and the threat of nuclear terrorism;

6. Engage Latin America on a range of issues from immigration reform to economic, energy, and environmental cooperation;

7. Fight international poverty.


I'm not happy about #1 being so vague, and I would prefer that the scope of diplomacy be extended bbeyond our traditional allies. I don't mean our enemies as he argues in point 4, but rather key nations like India. Number 7 is equally vague; it might be better to fight illiberalism and promote freedom (not necessarily democracy) as underlying root causes to economic oppression. On the whole though it's pretty impressive and is thus far the only comprehensive vision that isn't Iraq-centric.

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