RESPONSIBILITY, OPPORTUNITY, AND COMMUNITY
By Joseph Lieberman
In this era of uncertainty and conflict, the United States—blessed with the world’s strongest military, most ingenious economy, and most tolerant society—remains a model and leader to the world.
But around the globe, anti-Americanism is growing and U.S. leadership is being challenged. That is partially a by-product of U.S. preeminence, but some of it is a direct response to the Bush administration’s policies. Even our staunchest friends are troubled by the administration’s inclination for unilateral action, its inconsistent words and deeds, and its dismissive response to their legitimate concerns.
How do we use our power and leverage our moral authority to make the United States and the world safer and better? By meeting three intertwined challenges: living up to our security responsibilities, opening up new opportunities around the globe, and becoming more engaged in the world community.
Responsibility means living up to our government’s constitutional obligation to provide for the common defense and insure domestic tranquility. Since September 11, the most immediate dangers we face are from al Qaeda and other global terrorist networks. In the months and years to come, U.S. armed forces and intelligence agencies must pursue those terrorists more aggressively. We must fight the war with more than force—using diplomatic, economic, and political tools to disrupt al Qaeda and deprive it of support. We will need ploughshares and swords to win this war. We must refocus NATO, the world’s greatest military alliance, to apply its might to uproot terrorism. At home, we must reshape domestic defenses with more urgency, vision, and precision than the Bush administration has demonstrated.
Rogue nations present a grave second danger—one we must counter through early intervention, firm diplomacy, and, when necessary, an uncompromising willingness to use force. These past six months, the Bush administration has been strong, clear, and consistent on Iraq but weak, confusing, and inconsistent on North Korea. North Korea has a totalitarian leader whose destructive attempts to develop nuclear weapons are the cause of the current crisis. But by straying from the path of strength and diplomacy pursued by the Clinton administration, the Bush administration has turned a difficult challenge into a dangerous crisis.
The danger of terrorists and rogue states is compounded by the proliferation of chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear weapons. That’s why we must invest further in the Nunn-Lugar program to dismantle and secure loose nuclear materials and technologies and why we must renew our leadership in pursuit of more comprehensive nuclear arms control. An important start is recommitting to the ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. But preventive efforts might fail, so an effective missile defense system is also necessary.
Third, maintaining the global balance of power must be as high a priority as countering threats from terrorists and rogue nations. That means understanding the consequences of the Bush administration’s clumsily articulated policy of military preemption—and correcting the policy quickly. The United States has always reserved the right to use force to prevent an attack against us. But by declaring this doctrine without offering friends and foes clarification as to how and when the policy might be exercised, our government has prompted unease among allies and defensive action among enemies—without strengthening U.S. security.
Finally, we must reinvigorate the U.S. military for the new century through an aggressive transformation that makes it lighter, more lethal, and more readily equipped to win unconventional wars. The Bush administration’s rhetoric, which has been good on this point, must be matched with tough decisions and real resources. Those resources will be increasingly difficult to find since the president has overcommitted our national resources to his ineffective tax cuts.
Opportunity means advancing American values in the world by protecting human rights, meeting human needs, and opening global markets. Here again, the administration’s rhetoric has not been matched with concrete actions or adequate resources.
The Muslim world is in the midst of a civil war between a moderate majority, which seeks a better life, and a militant minority, which seeks to wage permanent war against all who are different and to bring down a theological iron curtain separating Islam from the rest of the world. For the sake of U.S. security and values, we must support the moderate Muslim majority’s aspirations. That means doing more than “draining the terrorist swamp.” We must also seed the garden—helping average people flourish by increasing economic opportunities and laying the institutional foundations of a civil society.
I have introduced a bill with Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska to do exactly that in partnership with the people of Afghanistan. Soon, Senator Hagel and I will introduce legislation expanding that model to the rest of the Muslim world. When we bring down trade and business barriers and build up democratic institutions that respect the God-given rights of all people, we will more clearly communicate that we are fighting a small group of vicious terrorists, not engaging in a global clash against Islam.
We must also demonstrate a commitment to opening markets, respecting human rights, and fighting disease in Africa—which is why I have supported the Debt Relief Enhancement Act and the African Growth and Opportunity Act. So, too, must we help pave the path to prosperity in the still tenuous democracies of Latin America by expanding trade and development and reinvigorating political groups such as the Organization of American States.
Finally, we must dramatically reform foreign aid—to ensure it helps those we intend it to help and reinforces American values of tolerance, equality, and opportunity. Once we are confident the money is being spent wisely, we should significantly increase our investment.
Community means engaging constructively with like-minded nations to build strong, sustaining institutions and alliances—and bringing emerging powers into this community so future conflict becomes less likely. The Bush administration has demonstrated an unhealthy disregard for the opinions of fellow nations—a disregard that has squandered some of the support we received after the September 11, 2001, attacks and diminished our influence around the world.
Consider the administration’s approach to global warming. Though the United States produces about a quarter of the world’s greenhouse gases and will be affected badly by climate change, the Bush administration has shown no interest in doing anything about the problem. That undermines our stature and causes an unnecessary rift with our allies that could come back to haunt us as we seek global support in the war against terrorism. Victory in this war depends upon partnerships—in intelligence, law enforcement, asset seizure, and a range of other operations. There is a better way: a market-friendly system to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that I have introduced with Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona.
The most powerful nation in the world cannot oscillate between sulking and shouting. The United States must speak with a clear and consistent voice and lead all nations to face major global challenges together. The U.S. government has paid dearly for pulling out of the Kyoto Protocol and rejecting the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. Although each of these agreements was flawed, each became more so when the United States moved to the sidelines. Helping shape credible international institutions is not a sign of weakness; it is a sign of confidence in U.S. strength and ideals. By disengaging, President Bush has often marginalized U.S. policies, interests, and values.
In his April 1917 address to Congress asking for a declaration of war, President Woodrow Wilson said, “we shall fight for those things which we have always carried nearest our hearts, for democracy, for the right of those who submit to authority to have a voice in their own governments.”
As we reflect on the last century, we must see that only by preparing to fight for the things we carry nearest our hearts—the power of our ideals—did we make it an American century. And only by putting our muscle behind our morality will we make this new century as full of progress for the United States and the world.
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