The Washington Post looks at the renewed focus on Iraq in the presidential campaign.
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LinkedInSen. Barack Obama (D-IL) again addressed his views on diplomacy on Wednesday. The New York Times reported Obama stressed “the difference between avoiding preconditions for talks with nations like Iran and Syria, and granting them automatic discussions at the presidential level.” Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Obama also said it would be “premature” to reopen the U.S. embassy in Tehran.
“Even as we campaign for the presidency, we will use our standing as Senators to press for the steps needed to ensure that the United States honors, in practice and in deed, its commitment to the cause of peace and protection of Darfur’s innocent citizenry. We will continue to keep a close watch on events in Sudan and speak out for its marginalized peoples. It would be a huge mistake for the Khartoum regime to think that it will benefit by running out the clock on the Bush Administration.”
Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) delivered a speech that called for a binding accord with Russia on nuclear disarmament. He also said he would reconsider his past opposition to the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT).
“I will seek to reduce the size of our nuclear arsenal to the lowest number possible
consistent with our security requirements and global commitments. Today we deploy thousands of nuclear warheads. It is my hope to move as rapidly as possible to a significantly smaller force.”
In a column published Monday, former Cuban President Fidel Castro criticized Sen. Barack Obama’s (D-IL) May 23 speech in which he called for “justice for Cuba’s political prisoners, the rights of free speech, a free press and freedom of assembly” and “elections that are free and fair.” Obama said he would maintain the U.S. embargo on Cuba but open up contacts in other areas.
“There are no better ambassadors for freedom than Cuban Americans. That’s why I w
ill immediately allow unlimited family travel and remittances to the island. It’s time to let Cuban Americans see their mothers and fathers, their sisters and brothers. It’s time to let Cuban American money make their families less dependent upon the Castro regime.”
In a town hall meeting in Boca Raton, Florida, on Thursday, Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) said he would not negotiate with Hamas or Hezbollah unless they “renounce terror, recognize Israel’s right to exist, and abide by past agreements.”
Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) and Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) continued to debate the issue of negotiation with U.S. adversaries (AP) on Wednesday.
In a lecture Wednesday at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, Joshua Muravchik, resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, said democracy promotion must continue to play a major role in U.S. foreign policy for the next presidential administration. CFR.org contributing editor Joanna Klonsky filed this report on the lecture: Read more »
