You know, what's especially interesting about Senator Obama's tough talk today on Pakistan is what happens we contrast it with one of the first major foreign policy addresses the Senator gave, back in late April to the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. Let's take a look...
Back in April, Senator Obama said: "We have seen the consequences of a foreign policy based on a flawed ideology, and a belief that tough talk can replace real strength and vision." Hmmm--plenty of "tough talk" from you today, though.
Back in April, Senator Obama said: "And America must lead by reaching out to all those living disconnected lives of despair in the world's forgotten corners - because while there will always be those who succumb to hate and strap bombs to their bodies, there are millions more who want to take another path - who want our beacon of hope to shine its light their way." Actually, here the Senator agrees with President Bush, who argues that people in the world have an instinctive yearning for democracy, which is why America must seek to promote it (in Iraq, for example).
Back in April, Senator Obama said: "Our interests are best served when people and governments from Jerusalem and Amman to Damascus and Tehran understand that America will stand with our friends, work hard to build a peaceful Middle East, and refuse to cede the future of the region to those who seek perpetual conflict and instability." Er, withdrawing from Iraq and abandoning its government is not a good example of standing "with our friends"; and should leaving Iraq make it a haven for terrorists, what will that do to the region? And what would invading Pakistan without that government's consent do to our standing in the region?
Back in April, Senator Obama urged a doubling of our foreign aid spending by 2012, saying: "Because we cannot hope to shape a world where opportunity outweighs danger unless we ensure that every child, everywhere, is taught to build and not to destroy." The danger, of course, is if we do anything that encourages the destroyers to think that their destruction has influenced our decisions, That they have made us think we must bribe them to cease their destruction.
Senator Obama had some sensible recommendations in his speech, as well. We may very well need to expand the size of our military in coming years to meet the many threats facing us. But he today contradicted himself...
