www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A689-2004May29.html
John Kerry Kerry Says Global Democracy Is Not His Top Issue Democratic Candidate Makes National Security an Urgent Priority By Glenn Kessler Washington Post Staff Writer Sunday, May 30, 2004; John F Kerry indicated that as president he would downplay the promotion of democracy as a leading goal in dealing with Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, China and Russia, instead focusing on other objectives that he said are more central to the nation's security.
Kerry, in a one-hour interview Friday night, also rejected the idea of setting a date for the withdrawal of US soldiers from Iraq. Though the notion is gaining favor in more liberal parts of the Democratic Party, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee said "it is not a good idea just in a vacuum" because the timetable for reducing US troops must be dictated by success in holding elections and establishing security and stability. In many ways, Kerry laid out a foreign-policy agenda that appeared less idealistic about US aims than President Bush or even former president Bill Clinton, a fellow Democrat.
and market it" around the world, he demurred when questioned specifically about a number of important countries that suppress human rights and freedoms. He said securing all nuclear materials in Russia, integrating China in the world economy, achieving greater controls over Pakistan's nuclear weapons or winning greater cooperation on terrorist financing in Saudi Arabia trumped human rights concerns in those nations. "Sometimes we are dealt a set of cards that don't allow us do everything we want to do at once," he said. During the interview, he eschewed the soaring rhetoric on freedom and democracy that are commonplace in Bush's speeches or news conferences. At one point, he stumbled over his words when he tried to emphasize his interest in promoting American values: "The idea of America is, I think proudly and chauvinistically, the best idea that we've developed in this world."
and how rapidly others can embrace it and what can be expected over a period of time varies from place to place." Emphasizing his interest in setting realistic goals, he added: "Beware of the presidential candidate who just sort of says with a big paint brush we're going to make everything all right overnight." The interview, held at his campaign headquarters in Washington, was part of an 11-day effort by the Kerry campaign to flesh out his foreign-policy agenda in preparation for the fall campaign battle with Bush. Last Thursday, Kerry outlined what he called his "foreign-policy architecture": rebuilding alliances; deploying diplomacy, intelligence, economic power and American values to overcome threats; and freeing the United States from its dependence on Middle East oil. On Tuesday, he will give a speech outlining proposals on preventing a terrorist attack using nuclear and biological weapons, which include creating a new high-level White House coordinator to oversee his plan to secure nuclear material around the world and accelerating efforts to secure such materials in the former Soviet Union. Then, on Thursday, he will present his proposals for overhauling the armed forces. Bush's campaign ads have sought to portray Kerry as a dangerous leftist who would undermine the war on terror, and the Massachusetts Democrat has countered with a foreign-policy critique that mainly challenges Bush on tactics, not fundamentals. Challenged in the interview on how his approach differed from Bush in certain areas, Kerry would often cite either more attention to detail or greater urgency -- in other words, competence over ideology. During this period of campaigning, Kerry has not outlined a new strategy for the most vexing foreign policy issue -- the situation in Iraq. Kerry articulated a plan for Iraq several weeks ago which, with minor nuances, is similar to Bush's approach, though he has argued that Bush has so badly damaged relations with major allies that only a new president can win international support for the US plan in Iraq. Kerry, who has devoted much of his two-decade Senate career to foreign-policy issues, was comfortable and confident in answering questions that hopscotched across the globe and various trouble spots. He provided detailed and sometimes complex answers that occasionally drew on his experiences in meeting leaders in the Middle East, Asia and Latin America. He said he would aim to set clear priorities after deciding what was most important and achievable in dealing with other countries. He also said he would balance those goals so no single objective overwhelmed the administration or left other concerns festering. He accused to the Bush administration of having an "Iraq-centric preoccupation" that left little opportunity to deal with other pressing problems. "It is the distinction between what is cosmetic and what is real. In the 20 years that I have been here I have learned to distinguish between the two. Kerry also accused the administration of having no plan to deal with North Korea's rush to build up its nuclear weapons arsenal. He derided the Bush administration's long effort to set up six-nation talks to resolve the impasse over North Korea's nuclear ambitions as a "fig leaf" designed to cover up its failure to have a coherent policy. Kerry said he would immediately begin bilateral negotiations with North Korea -- a goal the Pyongyang government has long sought -- but, perhaps in a nod to the sensitivities of the Japanese, South Koreans and Chinese, he also would not abandon the six-nation talks. "I would do the six-party but I would engage in bilateral discussions." The Bush administration has argued that bilateral talks would just reward North Korea for its behavior, and it was necessary to include the other nations to ensure a regional solution. Kerry declined to say what he would offer North Korea as inducements to give up its weapons but said he would be willing to discuss a broad agenda that included troop levels on the Korean Peninsula, replacing the armistice that ended the Korean War and even reunification of North and South Korea. Kerry said Bush had made a serious mistake by not talking directly with Pyongyang.
over here and trouble over there, but they were getting the process of a dialogue to get a verification structure," Kerry said. "You are better off engaged in that effort than disengaged." Kerry was more cautious on whether he would allow talks with Iran, which has not had relations with the United States since the 1979 revolution. "You look at Egypt and Saudi Arabia and you have governments who like us and people who don't. In the case of Iran you have a government who doesn't and people who do." But Kerry said he would need to know what the United States could expect if it began talks with the Islamic Republic, which is sandwiched between two countries recently invaded by the United States -- Afghanistan and Iraq. He said he was "prepared carefully to explore the possibilities of what direct engagement might provide. Kerry has regularly attacked Saudi Arabia on the campaign trail as an unreliable partner in the fight against terrorism. He suggested he would punish the Saudis if they did not cooperate more fully on money laundering and the tracking of terrorist financing. "I don't believe we have a free voice in the Middle East as long as we are dependent on the oil card. I think there has been this sweetheart arrangement that has deprived us of that ability." On Egypt, Kerry said that he would not tie foreign aid to greater openness and reform. "I would first want to link it to the warmth of relationship with Israel and the effort to secure general stability in Middle East," he said. Kerry said that China, which is tightly ruled by the Communist Party, could be the "principal partner" in his anti-proliferation effort and it was essential to build a partnership with China that recognizes "the unbelievable economic power and clout" it will acquire in the coming years. "China is moving" on democracy on its own accord, he said, asserting that although the central government is focused on party control, "the contest of different ideas at local levels is quite vibrant." Kerr...
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