Posted on Wednesday, June 25th, 2008 by campaign2008
Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) and Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) both gave speeches on energy policy on Tuesday. McCain promoted his plan to implement a cap-and-trade system for carbon emissions, which he said will “give American businesses new incentives and rewards to seek, instead of just giving new taxes to pay and new orders to follow.” Obama again called for higher fuel standards and criticized proposals for domestic oil exploration and a gas tax holiday.
LATIN AMERICA: McCain will travel with Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) to Mexico and Colombia (ChiTrib) during the July 4 congressional recess to meet with the presidents and other leaders of those countries.
ISRAEL: Both candidates signed letters (Politico) to President Bush in defense of Israel ’s right to defend itself on Tuesday.
ZIMBABWE: Obama on Tuesday released a statement condemning the recent actions of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and calling for “fresh elections” in that country.
Posted in Africa, Energy Policy, General Election, Latin America, Morning Update, Palestinian-Israeli | 0 Comments »
Posted on Saturday, June 7th, 2008 by Joanna Klonsky
Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) suspended her candidacy for the Democratic nomination
June 7 . Clinton, who had advanced farther than any woman presidential candidate in U.S. history, sought throughout the campaign season to distinguish her foreign policy agenda from that of her main opponent, Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL).
In a concession speech Saturday, Clinton endorsed Obama and urged her supporters to work for his election.
Here is a review of Clinton’s key foreign policy positions:
- Clinton said she would end the war in Iraq. Although she voted in favor of the 2002 Senate resolution authorizing the use of force in Iraq, she has since become critical of the war, opposing the troop surge and the use of private military contractors there. Clinton’s plan to end the war included a phased redeployment of troops beginning within the first 60 days of her administration. She also said she would keep “small, elite strike forces” in Iraq “to engage in targeted operations against al-Qaeda.”
- Clinton said she would open a diplomatic channel with Iran upon taking office, but also warned the country about its aggression toward Israel, saying in April 2008 that the United States would “totally obliterate” Iran if it were to “foolishly consider launching an attack on Israel” under her presidency. Clinton also received criticism from her Democratic opponents for her September 2007 vote in favor of the Kyl-Lieberman amendment, which labeled the Iranian Revolutionary Guard a terrorist organization.
- Clinton promised to renegotiate NAFTA to improve the trade deal’s labor and environmental protections. She planned to implement a “time out” on new trade deals during her first months as president so she could “assess their impact before going forward.” Clinton also said she would crack down on China’s “unfair trade practices,” including the revaluation of the yuan.
- Clinton said she would maintain the U.S. embargo on Cuba and would pressure the Cuban government to release political prisoners and become more democratic.
- Clinton planned to institute a cap-and-trade program for carbon emissions and create a $50 billion “Strategic Energy Fund,” funded in part by oil companies, to invest in alternative energy. She also said she would create a “green collar” jobs program.
- Clinton said she would visit Africa during her first term, if elected. She called for a no-fly zone over Darfur, Sudan, but said she would not send U.S. troops to stop the mass killings there. Clinton signed a statement in May 2008 saying the Khartoum regime was “chiefly responsible” for the violence in Darfur and demanding that it adhere to the standards of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement.
Posted in Africa, Climate Change, Cuba, General Election, Iran, Iraq, Palestinian-Israeli, Trade | 0 Comments »
Posted on Wednesday, May 28th, 2008 by campaign2008
“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.”
–A statement from Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY), Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) and Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) released Wednesday on the website of the Save Darfur Coalition, an advocacy organization “demanding an end to the genocide” in Darfur.
Posted in Africa, General Election, Quote of the Day | 0 Comments »
Posted on Wednesday, May 28th, 2008 by campaign2008
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).
The campaign of Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) released a statement emphasizing what it says is his leadership on nuclear nonproliferation issues.
Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY), in her response to the McCain speech, said in a statement she would implement a policy of “vigorous diplomacy with Iran to stop its nuclear program.” She also said she would support the ratification of the CTBT, and negotiate “deep and verifiable reductions in nuclear weapons” with Russia.
All three presidential candidates will issue a joint statement on the crisis in Darfur on Wednesday. “Today, we wish to make clear to the Sudanese government that on this moral issue of tremendous importance, there is no divide between us,” the statement will say. The statement does not call for any specific legislative action, according to the New York Times.
Posted in Africa, General Election, Morning Update, Russia | 0 Comments »
Posted on Monday, May 19th, 2008 by campaign2008
Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) says Israel will “have to acknowledge that some of the settlement policies make it very difficult to create a functioning Palestinian state” and Palestinians must “recognize Israel” and “stop threatening violence” (Reuters).
All three major presidential candidates are scheduled to speak at the annual American Israel Public Affairs Committee conference next month.
Zimbabwe: In a statement on Saturday, Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) called for an end to religious persecution in Zimbabwe, and promised to continue to speak out for religious freedom if she is elected.
GOP: The Los Angeles Times looks at tensions within the Republican Party around immigration and climate change policy, among other issues.
Posted in Africa, Morning Update, Palestinian-Israeli | 0 Comments »
Posted on Friday, May 16th, 2008 by campaign2008
In a speech on Thursday, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) laid out his vision for the United States by 2013, which could be the end of his first term in the presidency. He said he expects Iraq to be a “functioning democracy” by then. He also predicted that a “League of Democracies” will have been established and will have pressured Sudan to stop what U.S. officials have termed as genocide in Darfur.
Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) responded critically to McCain’s speech. Read her statement here.
A new series of CFR.org Backgrounders profiles the main foreign policy advisers for Clinton, Sen. Barack Obama, (D-IL) and McCain.
Posted in Africa, General Election, Iraq, Morning Update | 0 Comments »
Posted on Monday, April 28th, 2008 by campaign2008
Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) said on Fox News Sunday he plans to vote to confirm Gen. David Petraeus as head of Central Command, and praised Petraeus for having done a “a good tactical job in Iraq.”
Separately, Obama said in a weekend statement that he is “deeply concerned” about the situation in Zimbabwe. He said Washington should work with the South African Development Community, the African Union, and the UN Security Council “to join together in condemning the current crackdown.” He also said the United States should “stand ready to support efforts to hold the perpetrators of human rights abuses accountable for their actions.”
Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) released a plan Sunday to protect members of the military from home foreclosures. The plan includes an “absolute moratorium” on foreclosures while service members are serving combat tours.
Posted in Africa, General Election, Military, Morning Update | 0 Comments »
Posted on Tuesday, April 1st, 2008 by campaign2008
“The delay in publishing the results of the election raise serious doubts about what
is happening. It is now time for the international community, especially Zimbabwe’s immediate neighbors, to stand up and be heard in support of Zimbabwe’s people, demanding that their votes be respected. This is not only the principled course of action, it is also the only one that will assure everyone’s best interests by not allowing the situation to deteriorate further.”
–Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) in a statement Tuesday on the results of Zimbabwe’s election.
Posted in Africa, General Election, Quote of the Day | 0 Comments »
Posted on Tuesday, February 26th, 2008 by campaign2008
Sen. Hillary Clinton’s speech in Washington, D.C., on Monday generated discussion again about the foreign policy credentials of Sen. Barack Obama. Less noted was the bleak foreign affairs outlook Clinton painted. She mentioned wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, countries “rushing to acquire nuclear weapons,” and “crushing” global poverty. She also pointed to climate change, disease pandemics, genocide in Darfur, terrorism, and the “rise of borderless, stateless criminal cartels.” Clinton drew distinctions between herself and opponent Barack Obama, and attempted to portray herself as a safe bet for voters concerned about foreign policy. “The American people don’t have to guess whether I understand the issues, or whether I would need a foreign policy instruction manual to guide me through a crisis, or whether I’d have to rely on advisers to introduce me to global affairs,” she said.
Pakistan: Apparently criticizing Obama, though not mentioning him by name, Clinton said she would not “broadcast threats of unilateral military action against a country like Pakistan just to demonstrate that I am tough enough for the job.”
Diplomacy: Clinton warned against legitimizing rogue states, and said she would “not be penciling in the leaders of Iran or North Korea or Venezuela or Cuba on the presidential calendar without preconditions.”
Africa: Clinton said she would promote a “consistent, coherent strategy in dealing with Africa,” but did not go into much detail. She did say the United States should push “more aggressively” for the deployment of peacekeeping forces to Darfur.
Posted in Africa, General Election, Iraq | 0 Comments »
Posted on Thursday, February 7th, 2008 by campaign2008
Fresh after battling to a near draw on Super Tuesday, Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) returned to Washington to vote on an economic stimulus program, which failed. Clinton and Obama both voted in favor of the bill. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) missed the vote.
McCain told Britain’s Daily Telegraph he regretted the British withdrawal from southern Iraq. Still, he said, the region has remained “relatively quiet” since the change, despite “significant Iranian penetration down there” and “cooperation between the Mahdi army and the Badr Brigades.”
Residents of Obama’s ancestral village in Kenya are paying close attention to the U.S. presidential race, Reuters reports. “Obama is American but also Kenyan,” said Obama’s grandmother. “If he wins I would want him to help Kenya as well, not just me and not just the village but the whole country and the entire world.”
Posted in Africa, General Election, Iraq, Morning Update | 0 Comments »
