Kingfisher
12-08-2007, 06:58 PM
Dont know if this has been posted before. If so I apologize .................................................. .................................................. .................................................. .................................................. ..........................................Huckabee 's September Speech Posted on CFR's Website
By Ann Shibler and John Perna
Created 2007-11-21 15:54
Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee opened his speech to the Center for Strategic and International Studies with the statement that American foreign policy needs a new tone and attitude change. But the speech parallels the present administration's policies — it's just worded differently, minus the "Bushisms."
Huckabee believes that Americans need to better understand Islamic theology and ideology and blames the administration's lack of communication for not adequately convincing Americans of the danger posed by ruthless Islamic fanaticism. He extols the benefits of democracy, but decries the method in which it is presently being delivered. "We can't 'export' democracy as if it was Coca Cola or KFC, but we can nurture native moderate forces in all these countries where Al Qaeda seeks to replace modern evil with medieval evil."
Two paragraphs down he elucidates his plan for dealing with Iraq and it distinctly sounds like a continuation of the present administration's war policy with the United States continuing to be the world's policeman and leading humanitarian organization: "My goal in the Muslim world is to correctly calibrate a course between maintaining stability and promoting democracy... First, we have to destroy the terrorists who already exist, then we have to attack the underlying conditions that breed terror, by helping to improve health and basic quality of life, create schools that offer an alternative to the extremist madrassas that turn impressionable children into killers, create jobs and opportunity and hope, encourage a free press, fair courts, and other institutions that promote democracy. "
He hints that any enemy needs to be "tracked down and eliminated," by any means. "We can accomplish a great deal, we can achieve tremendous bang for the buck, with swift, surgical air strikes and commando raids by our elite units, as we've recently done with the Ethiopians in Somalia," he says. And he adds, "The Administration has quite properly said that it will not take the military option for Iran off the table. Neither would I." "Right now we are proceeding down only one track with Iran — armed confrontation."
War with Iran seems to be a strong point with Huckabee as he says, "The bottom line is this: Iran is a regional threat to the balance of power in the Middle and Near East; Al Qaeda is an existential threat to the United States. I know we can't live with Al Qaeda, but there's a chance that we can live with a domesticated Iran. There is no way Iran will acquire nuclear weapons on my watch."
Huckabee parrots all the in-vogue mainstream positions of the day:
Using taxpayer money to produce and promote alternative energies
Adding to the intelligence bureaucracy
Intensifying diplomatic efforts with Europe, Russian, China, South Korea, and India
Getting involved militarily in unstable Pakistan
Increasing the size of our military and military budget
Placing the State Department in charge of nation building
"The answer," to the Iraq question Huckabee reiterates, "is not to stay the course, but to continue to adapt the course, to take advantage of change faster than our enemies, as we have the last six months, to bring the Iraqis to that safe place where they will thrive and terror will not. We will remain in Iraq into the next administration, and I am prepared to finish this war with honor and victory."
That is the Mike Huckabee foreign policy stand in a nutshell. Is it anything different from what we hear on a daily basis from the present administration and most of the presidential candidates? Huckabee is showing his colors — he is a pseudo-conservative who will fit right into the Establishment agenda very nicely. Having his speech posted on the CFR Website demonstrates that he is already playing ball with them. Therefore he probably cannot be counted on to serve the cause of liberty under the principles of the Constitution.
By Ann Shibler and John Perna
Created 2007-11-21 15:54
Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee opened his speech to the Center for Strategic and International Studies with the statement that American foreign policy needs a new tone and attitude change. But the speech parallels the present administration's policies — it's just worded differently, minus the "Bushisms."
Huckabee believes that Americans need to better understand Islamic theology and ideology and blames the administration's lack of communication for not adequately convincing Americans of the danger posed by ruthless Islamic fanaticism. He extols the benefits of democracy, but decries the method in which it is presently being delivered. "We can't 'export' democracy as if it was Coca Cola or KFC, but we can nurture native moderate forces in all these countries where Al Qaeda seeks to replace modern evil with medieval evil."
Two paragraphs down he elucidates his plan for dealing with Iraq and it distinctly sounds like a continuation of the present administration's war policy with the United States continuing to be the world's policeman and leading humanitarian organization: "My goal in the Muslim world is to correctly calibrate a course between maintaining stability and promoting democracy... First, we have to destroy the terrorists who already exist, then we have to attack the underlying conditions that breed terror, by helping to improve health and basic quality of life, create schools that offer an alternative to the extremist madrassas that turn impressionable children into killers, create jobs and opportunity and hope, encourage a free press, fair courts, and other institutions that promote democracy. "
He hints that any enemy needs to be "tracked down and eliminated," by any means. "We can accomplish a great deal, we can achieve tremendous bang for the buck, with swift, surgical air strikes and commando raids by our elite units, as we've recently done with the Ethiopians in Somalia," he says. And he adds, "The Administration has quite properly said that it will not take the military option for Iran off the table. Neither would I." "Right now we are proceeding down only one track with Iran — armed confrontation."
War with Iran seems to be a strong point with Huckabee as he says, "The bottom line is this: Iran is a regional threat to the balance of power in the Middle and Near East; Al Qaeda is an existential threat to the United States. I know we can't live with Al Qaeda, but there's a chance that we can live with a domesticated Iran. There is no way Iran will acquire nuclear weapons on my watch."
Huckabee parrots all the in-vogue mainstream positions of the day:
Using taxpayer money to produce and promote alternative energies
Adding to the intelligence bureaucracy
Intensifying diplomatic efforts with Europe, Russian, China, South Korea, and India
Getting involved militarily in unstable Pakistan
Increasing the size of our military and military budget
Placing the State Department in charge of nation building
"The answer," to the Iraq question Huckabee reiterates, "is not to stay the course, but to continue to adapt the course, to take advantage of change faster than our enemies, as we have the last six months, to bring the Iraqis to that safe place where they will thrive and terror will not. We will remain in Iraq into the next administration, and I am prepared to finish this war with honor and victory."
That is the Mike Huckabee foreign policy stand in a nutshell. Is it anything different from what we hear on a daily basis from the present administration and most of the presidential candidates? Huckabee is showing his colors — he is a pseudo-conservative who will fit right into the Establishment agenda very nicely. Having his speech posted on the CFR Website demonstrates that he is already playing ball with them. Therefore he probably cannot be counted on to serve the cause of liberty under the principles of the Constitution.