If you were elected president in 2004...

[Darranar]

what would your foreign policy (including the issue of trade and globalization) be like? (This is assuming that no other major developments happen from now until January 2005.)

What would you do about North Korea? What would you do about Iran? What would you do about the Middle East as a whole? What would you do about NAFTA, the WTO, and the FTAA?

[MrSoundAndVision]

1. I would embrace them all and

respect their ideologies as much as possible. At the very least allow them to feed their people, at least as well as Americans are fed :) I think the North Koreans would feel differently about us if 60% of their people were obese. That's it, Peace through Obesity! No I'd just pick Dennis Kucinich as VP and shoot myself....Only kidding, I've maid too many enemies here to get elected.

[knight_of_the_star]

2. Well...

The first thing I would do as soon as I got into office and was sworn in would be to go before the UN General Assembly and apologize PROFUSELY to the entire world for the behavior of my predecessor and say that the US will NEVER act that way again. I would also put in stiff demands on NAFTA that the US would withdraw unless equal labor protection and environmental protection laws to that of the US or better are put in place and ENFORCED. With North Korea I would do whatever I oculd to starve that little whiny brat economically and cut it off from the rest of the world. In Iran I would allow them to have the nuke plants, but I would request regular inspections of the country as well as covertly encouraging democracy over there. WIth the rest of the Middle East I would take a tougher stance while decreasing oil trade with OPEC and increasing the amounts we import from Russia and Norway and Scotland as well as researching fuel cells and hydrogen powered cars. That and I would push for democratic reforms in the ME if they want ANY oil trade with us at all. That and with Israel and Palestine, I would lock the leaders from both sides in a room, give them food and water, and say that they are not leaving until they come up with a solution that BOTH sides like.

[Darranar]

3. Hmm...

The first thing I would do as soon as I got into office and was sworn in would be to go before the UN General Assembly and apologize PROFUSELY to the entire world for the behavior of my predecessor and say that the US will NEVER act that way again.

Agreed.

I would also put in stiff demands on NAFTA that the US would withdraw unless equal labor protection and environmental protection laws to that of the US or better are put in place and ENFORCED.

Agreed again.

With North Korea I would do whatever I oculd to starve that little whiny brat economically and cut it off from the rest of the world.

I can't agree with you here. North Korea needs to be given humanitarian aid in trade for nuclear concessions, not sanctions, which will only worsen the humanitarian situation.

In Iran I would allow them to have the nuke plants, but I would request regular inspections of the country as well as covertly encouraging democracy over there.

I agree with you here as well.

WIth the rest of the Middle East I would take a tougher stance while decreasing oil trade with OPEC and increasing the amounts we import from Russia and Norway and Scotland as well as researching fuel cells and hydrogen powered cars.

Pretty much agreed - I would also get a humanitarian aid package to the region to aid the people of the Middle East who are suffering because of their leaders' misrule.

That and I would push for democratic reforms in the ME if they want ANY oil trade with us at all.

Not a bad idea - but see my remark on your last statement.

That and with Israel and Palestine, I would lock the leaders from both sides in a room, give them food and water, and say that they are not leaving until they come up with a solution that BOTH sides like.

A bit harsh, but I agree with the sentiment.

[DuctapeFatwa]

4. Essentially spend money to save lives, instead of taking them or

make rich men richer.

Bring every troop, every commercial soldier, every covert operative, every weapon out of the entire Middle East immediately, including Israel.

Write a blank check to every non-US or UN affiliated NGO in the world to rush massive humanitarian aid in, including Israel (where almost a quarter of households don't have enough food now).

Immediately halt any and all covert aid to wacky mullahs in Iran and elsewhere, and apologize to Khatami.

Divest completely every cent from Saudi Occupied Arabia, including the House of Saud, and halt all monetary payments to Murbarak, Abdullah, et al and let the people of those countries choose their government without US interference.

Pull all US oilngun personnel also out of Africa, zoom in humanitarian aid, including AIDS drugs, and if that means nationalizing Glaxo Wellcome, that's up to them.

Do the same thing with Asia and Latam. CIA, oilboizz out, food, medicine in, but via NGO's.

Resign from the UN Security Council.

Revise the border with Mexico to include first-aid stands, changing tables for moms, and coolers full of fruit juice and coca-cola. Oh, yeah, and a "Welcome" sign. Any company found paying an undocumented worker less than the federal minimum wage, (which I would immediately multiply more times than you want to know) will be fined $1000 per day per worker.

There is plenty of money. It's just a matter of spending it wisely.

[Darranar]

5. My approach would not be quite so radical...

but on several points (like humanitarian aid) you've hit the nail.

[DuctapeFatwa]

7. hey, I hadn't gotten to the radical part yet!

that was just the conservative stuff ;)

[Darranar]

11. Well, with you as president the world wouldn't need to disarm the US...

you'd do it yourself.

[DuctapeFatwa]

15. Yes! and make housing units and George Foreman grills out of the scraps

oh and of course return all the disappeared and kidnapped people to their families - with reparations!

[Mattforclark]

9. You have the right idea

With the exception of pulling out of the Security Council. Why not make it better and more functional instead of abandoning it? It's there and it has some legitimacy. Build on what we have.

Other than that, I'd vote for you.

[DuctapeFatwa]

18. I am trying to save the UN, and the best way to do that is to separate it

from the US as much as possible, and the SC is one of the worst ways US has abused and corrupted the UN, so I would take US out until some time had passed, some damage had been repaired.

I might also move the UN to Finland maybe, or Bhutan.

[fujiyama]

19. Why should five nations

dictate the rest of the world? The UN security council is a sham, and about the least democratic council in the world. India, which has some 17% of the world's population and is the world's largest democracy, is not on the security council. France and Britain are though...

My own take on FP:

First things first: Address the world by saying, "Our long INTERNATIONAL nightware is finally over".

Massive research spent on alternative fuels, including hydrogen fuel cell technology, and wind power technology.

Trade: consider renogotiating NAFTA, the WTO and other international agreements to insure greater standards of human rights, the enviornment, and labor. Apologize to Europe for politically motivated tarrifs on steel and other imports. Quit agricultural subsidies which bring down world prices on commodities, which is one of the main reasons for African poverty. Use foreign aid in a responsible manner for genuine humanitarian purposes. This would mean a real push for reform in the World Bank and IMF. Import less oil from OPEC, and more from Russia, and other nations as the above poster noted. This, and the investment and eventual technological breakthroughs would hopefully scare the Saudis silly and perhaps force them to focusing on educating their population in science and technology.

Foreign Aid: Remove all objections to generic drugs used to treat AIDS patients in Africa. Quit military aid to ALL nations, including Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Egypt, Israel, and all other nations. Route that money toward drugs and research for malaria, AIDS, and other diseases ravaging developing nations.

Iran: Make them understand that nuclear weapons would not be acceptable, yet engage in talks with Khatami, and whatever moderate elements exist in the government. Tell them the US understands Iran's security concenrns vis. a vis. Israel, and pressure Israel to also pursue some kind of truce with them. Obviously this would mean an end to Iran's financing of Hezbollah, and other terrorist groups. Engage in covert talks with the students and others in the freedom movement, but would not disclose the details in public, because I wouldn't want the internal forces to be seen as American puppets. This would allow Iran to take its own course, free of foreign intervention.

North Korea: Go back to the Clinton policy, which is frustrating, but more sensible than the current one. Let them know, in no uncertain terms that the nuclearization of the penninsula and the region is a losing bet, but that that the US is indeed concerned about the dire humanitarian crisis and is willing to negotiate a non-aggression pact, given the terms that NK's nuclear power is used only for peaceful purposes, in conjunction with the IAEA, the UN, and even US intelligence, which would monitor NK's facilities.

Israeli/Palestinian colnflict: What can I say, the other poster said it great. Lock em' up and not let 'em out 'till a solution is found.

Iraq: Shift control to Iraqis as quickly as possible and bring in peacekeepers from other nations. Decrease troop presence gradually within a specfied time frame of several months as UN peacekeepers move in. Have the UN reassign all contracts used to rebuild the Iraqi infrastructure, meaning no unbid contracts for Haliburton. This would all be at the expense of the US of course, for we started this mess, and at the minumum it's our monetery responsibly (atleast) to clean it up.

[lysergik]

6. I'd have Chimpy and Company imprisoned for treasonous crimes.

Everything else can wait another day or two :)

[Mattforclark]

8. Plan for the world

This all assumes a cooperative congress. Ha.

Globalization and free trade -

I would do everything I could to make sure globalization and free trade were advanced for the good of humanity. I would support free trade, if it were REALLY free. This is type of trade is sometimes referred to as FAIR trade. This means that the USA should eliminate all its farm subsidies and encourage the EU to eliminate its CAP (both by pointing to our example and with pressure). I would not support subsidies or tariffs on steel or anything like that, because they are unfair barriers to third world countries and prevent their growth. Along these same lines, I would support a massive increase in our international aid budget - a Marshall plan for the third world. I would support much more money to stop HIV/AIDS, I would support much more money to help third world countries control population - including condoms, birth control, abortions, education, and anything else that will help stop more humans than can be supported being born. I would of course support international agreements like Kyoto to try and stop global warming, which seems to be occuring and is bad.

North Korea -

I would talk to them. I would be happy to sign a non-aggression treaty with them, as I would have no aggressive intentions against them. I would continue to contain North Korea and respond to any aggressive actions appropriately, but not provoke them. If they attacked South Korea I would support our Allies. Millions of people would die, of course, but we would win in the end.

Iran -

Pretty much the same as with South Korea. Contain them. Like we did against the Soviet Union, like we did with Iraq until Dubya had the dumb idea of invading. Specifically in regards to Iran, I would either publicly support more liberal factions there if it was thought that this would help, and not do so if it was thought that this would hurt. I don't know enough about the issue right now to judge one way or another.

Middle East -

On Israel/Palestine, I would do what Sweden does in many conflicts. Help. I would constantly and relentlessly push for peace, whether or not it was likely to work. So what if it doesn't work? We lose face? Why on earth should I care about face? Be like Sweden. I would do precisely the same thing in all the other conflicts going on around the world which tend to be ignored. I would draw more attention to conflicts like the African World War, in which ~3 million people have died and no one noticed. Be like Sweden.

On Iraq, I would go to the UN and give a speech literally on my hands and knees. I would ask for help. If they gave it, great. If not, then we will have to foot the bill. I would send in lots more than $87 billion to rebuild Iraq and try to salvage the situation (in line with my general 3rd world development policies/marshall plan). Iraq doesn't need a constitution yet, it needs a government of its own. I would hand over general to the UN (if they would take it) and encourage that elections be held as soon as possible/ IE within a month or two of when I took office. A basic President/Prime minister would be elected, a basic legislature would be elected, etc. Then they could decide on their constitution.

NAFTA/WTO etc -

I would support them but make sure that they function correctly and are actually free (IE fair trade). Free trade is a great thing, but it needs to be more free and more democratic (IE WTO).

Terra -

Oh yah. First thing I'd do is publicly rename it to the 'War/Police action against Al Qaeda.'



One of the primary reasons why I support Clark is because he understands this. He sees the world in the long term. In short, he gets it. He is much less likely than the others, in my judgement, to make decisions based on short term political expediency rather than long term interests. He supports a great big increase in foreign aid, etc.

Anyone who calls themselves a liberal, I would think, would agree with this policy unless they care exclusively about the US.

[Darranar]

10. I would change free trade more then you advocate...

but otherwise, we pretty much agree.

[jpgray]

12. I would legislate to remove the profits from war-mongering.

That should turn the trick. Also, I'd fly into the air on a magic unicorn made of twinkies.

:)

[kyrasdad]

13. If I were King for a day... Ok President for 4 years

IMMEDIATLY after my swearing in, I would go to NY for a special UN Meeting that I had requested and apologize profusely for my predecessors mistakes. I would ask that they aid us in bringing a peaceful resolution in Iraq by supplying personelle and money, and that they take an active roll in the rebuilding process. For every soldier put into Iraq by a foreign government, I would remove one of ours. For every dollar put in by a foreign goevernment I would match with two. (hey we did blow the place up)

I would sit down with Putin and Venzuela and get a deal in place for them to supply us with oil, putting the pressure on Saudi Arabia and the rest for their business. Step out of line, we buy everything from Putin and Ven. Then I would go to the Israelis and Palestinians and make it clear that they need to work out an agreement. I would tell Arafat and Sharon that they have pretty much dicked around long enough, and ask them how many more of their children they wanted to see dead in the streets. I would then tell Sharon that they had 30 days to come to an agreement. If there wasn't one in place by then, all of our troops, materials, supplies, and money would be pulled out of there at that time. (We'd still be in Iraq ad Afgahnistan per UN resolutions) This was their last chance, or they could go it alone. Iran can have their nuclear plants as long as UN Inspectors keep an eye on them.

I would open up trade with N. Korea, supply them with what they need as long as they agreed to have UN Inspectors on site, with the agreement that after one year as long as all parties have lived up to thier obligations, they sign a no nukes pact with us.

Then after a short nap on Air Force One (a used Concorde)...

I would shame Congress before my VH-1 Innauguration Ball to pass a bill that would outlaw the US to do ANY business that keeps offshore accounts for the sake of reducing their tax bill to the USA, by exposing their holdings in said companies.

At the Ball I would talk with Fox about the border problem and explain that it was as much Mexico's problem as ours, and they needed to do their part to stop the flood of illegal immigrants. Yes, I would beef up security at the borders, but I would also relax our immigration laws (before dessert) to allow more immigrants to enjoy America's freedom. This also includes allowing partners of the same sex to immigrate. During dessert I would apologize to Canada and France for Bush being such a dick.

On the way to the MTV Ball, I would be writting legislation to repeal the Patriot Act, Bush's tax cut, fund Family Planning overseas, a real prescription drug plan for seniors, universal heath care for those in need, a flat 10% income tax with no write-offs that doesn't kick in until $20,000.00, fully fund my own no child left behind act, re-unionize the Dept. Of Homeland Security, raise the minimum wage to $6.00 an hour, and get rid of DOMA and the Office of Faith Based Initiative.

During the MTV Ball, after listening to Evanescence, I would just for good measure, decriminalize pot, legalize doctor assisted suicide, and fully fund the VA.

Then after a good nights sleep, the next morning, I'd really get to work.

[kyrasdad]

14. ohhhh...

and I'd end the embargo to Cuba...

[Lydia Leftcoast]

16. In my State of the Union address

I would enumerate the ways in which the Reagan revolution has harmed the U.S. both domestically and abroad and announce my intentions of reversing several specific points.

In foreign policy, I basically agree with Kucinich's approach. In addition, I would encourage American youth to learn more about the world with a modern version of the National Defense Education Act, funding foreign language and area studies on both the secondary and college levels. I would negotiate with other countries for "working holiday visas," a program already available to citizens of Canada, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, and other countries, under which people between the ages of 18 and 30 can go to one of the program countries and get a work permit good for six months or a year.

The State Department would be reorganized so that the diplomats became area specialists instead of generalists. In other words, one would spend one's whole career as a European specialist, an East Asian specialist, a Latin American specialist, or some other type of area specialist. At present, U.S. embassies abroad rely on English-speaking locals for their clerical duties. (Many other countries staff embassies entirely with their own nationals.)

Since there is no such thing as a region that is too obscure to be studied by American academics, I would gradually replace the foreign staff with American college graduates and graduate students who speak the local languages. In return for two to five years of service, they would get the equivalent of the G.I. bill.

Otherwise, as in Iran in 1979, American diplomats are dependent on English-speaking elites for their assessments of the local situation.

On the matter of North Korea, I would take my cues from South Korea, which is already conducting a lot of exchanges with its cousins to the north. Bribe them into good behavior.

Withdraw from Iraq and Afghanistan and give the Red Crescent Society (the Islamic Red Cross), UNICEF, Oxfam, Habitat for Humanity, and other NGOs the $87 billion.

Use the tax code to make it unprofitable to move production overseas. Also give good publicity to companies that keep production in the U.S.

I would get tough on people who hire illegal immigrants. If they have a business license, withdraw it. Fine them a hefty amount per day per illegal hire.

I would announce that the U.S. will no longer intervene in the internal affairs of any country that wants to experiment with different economic or political systems, as long as they don't invade their neighbors or commit genocide. In all cases of intervention, the U.S. will enlist the cooperation of regional powers or ask the regional powers to act as proxies.

I could go on, but I have work to do.

[solinvictus]

17. Foreign Policy

North Korea: Pursue a policy of negotiation and containment. I would make one good will attempt to deliver humanitarian aid tied to the surrender of nuclear ambitions. The humanitarian aid would include agricultural advisors as well so they could start feeding themselves and retain national pride. Kimchee Glasnost will erode their Stalinist state.

Iran: Initiate peace overtures with a "clean slate" approach to past conflicts. Before Khomeini, the Iranian people were essentially pro-America due to our actions preventing a Soviet occupation after WW2. An open society and good relations would weaken the theocracy in the country.

The Middle East: This one requires several different approaches.
1) Cessation of all arms sales and aid to Israel pending a TANGIBLE effort at negotiation with its Palestinian citizens. We sanctioned South Africa to death for its actions, but condone Isreali
2) Covert action against existing Al Qaeda cells using such techniques as assassinations. Yep, it's a dirty way to do the job, but fewer lives are lost.

NAFTA- I'd use an executive order and wipe my hiney with it. That piece of treason has cost Americans jobs and economic growth. Ditto with the WTO. Globalism is economic treason.