Reply #7: "Remarks On Twenty Year Vision For America" [View All]

[Tom Rinaldo]

An excerpt:
(As prepared for delivery)
Manchester, NH
January 10, 2004:


“Today, vast segments of the developing world's population are struggling, desperate for America's engagement, understanding and assistance. Right now, more than half the world's population is struggling to survive on less than $2 a day, and nearly 1 billion live in chronic hunger. More than one billion of the world's adults cannot read, three-quarters of them women. And half the children in the poorest countries are not in school. Malaria, tuberculosis and diarrhea alone kill 8 million people a year under the age of 15. And already in South Africa, Botswana and Zimbabwe, half of all the 15-year-olds are expected to die of AIDS. We cannot - we must not - allow this to go on.

But that's just what we're doing. For too long now, America has failed to live up to its awesome responsibilities on the world stage. We are the richest nation in education, health care, science, and bottom line dollar wealth. Yet, more often than not, we turn a blind eye to developing nations around the world, those which desperately need our help. More often than not we put the bottom line first.

America's wealth, strength, and character provides us with great power -- but they also confer great obligations...

...We'll still need our armed forces and we'll take every necessary action to make America safe - but we'll gain that safety not by force of arms, but by who we are and what we represent. For we should be an America not puffed up by pride in our own power, but rather an America humbled by the recognition of our common humanity. We must make sure that globalization helps people around the world, raising living standards and improving the environment everywhere - rather than leading a race to the bottom. Working together, we can build a world in which the rule of law - not the rule of force - governs relations between states. A world in which leaders respect the rights of their people, and nations seek peace, not destruction or domination. And neither we nor anyone else should live in fear ever again."

Wesley Clark


An excerpt:
General Wesley K. Clark
Atlantic Charter: The Power of Our Alliances

Netherlands Institute For International Relations
The Hague
December 15, 2003



"When we use the power of international law and diplomacy, we can achieve decisive results, even without decisive force.
I believe that, even in this age, we can fight and win wars through collective action. I believe alliances are indispensable, not inconvenient. And I prefer coalitions of the committed rather than coalitions of convenience. I would rather have capable European forces with a say in making decisions, than to have Tonga and the Marshall Islands with no strings attached.

But even more importantly, I believe that if America works with its allies, it can engage in diplomacy, developmental assistance, and a full array of legal actions to deal with crises before they erupt into war, and to ameliorate the conditions that might lead to those crises in the first place...

..The United States needs to work with its NATO allies on a political strategy to promote reform, human rights, and the rule of law in the greater Middle East.

So long as people there have no peaceful outlets for expressing dissent, they will seek violent outlets. So long as children in many parts of this region are educated in schools that preach hate, they will continue to grow into adults who practice hate. We will not succeed in transforming the Middle East by suggesting that regimes will be changed through military force. A better model is offered by the joint approach Europe and America took after the Cold War to transform Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. Together, we successfully promoted stability, security, economic reform and democratic progress throughout that region.

We offered these states the opportunity to work with and participate in Atlantic and European institutions. They were encouraged to settle historic disputes, integrate their economies and adopt open political systems. Our emphasis was upon carrots not sticks, inclusion not exclusion, assistance and encouragement not sanctions and coercion"


Wesley Clark



We need leadership with an enlightened sense of our nation's self interest. We need Democrats who are comfortable addressing the problems of the world, but who understand the limits of power. I am reassured to know that Wes Clark will continue to be heard from.