Obama Pledges ‘Humility and Restraint’ in Foreign Policy

[babylonsister]

Obama Pledges ‘Humility and Restraint’ in Foreign Policy
By David Nather, CQ Staff


With his pledge to use power only with “humility and restraint,” President Obama marked a departure from the policies of former President George W. Bush — subtly recasting campaign criticisms as guiding principles for his approach to world leadership.

The unwritten rule of inaugural addresses is that the new president isn’t supposed to attack the old one — at least, not directly. But given that he based much of his campaign on his opposition to the Iraq war and many of Bush’s responses to the Sept. 11 attacks, Obama clearly felt the need to spell out the new rules of U.S. foreign policy in his first official address as commander in chief.

As expected, Obama reinforced his pledge to end the Iraq war, promising to “begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan.” But he also signaled a broad commitment to upholding civil liberties and the rule of law in his antiterrorism policies, declaring that “we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals.” The principles of law and human rights “still light the world,” Obama said, “and we will not give them up for expedience’s sake.”

Obama’s approach to foreign policy, he said, would be based on the values of the Americans who “faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions.” The lesson to be learned from previous generations, Obama said, is that “power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.”

And with a subtle but unmistakable turn — “guided by these principles once more” — the new president announced to the world that the United States would pursue a new commitment to fighting terrorism and other threats through international cooperation and understanding.

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http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?docid=news-000003013321

[Gregorian]

1. People the world over heard those two words with great relief.

Those are words that preface what kind of administration this will be.

Sigh. It's hard to believe. And I just realized he's going to be here tomorrow as well! Yay!

[LakeSamish706]

2. I think that we can go to sleep at night knowing that this man has our best interests....

at heart. Something we have not been able to do in 8 years. I really hope that he reconsiders the mission in Afghanistan as well, cause I think that the US and all UN personnel in that country need to wind it down and get the hell out of there when reasonably possible.