Today in Los Angeles, John McCain laid out his vision for American foreign policy, as the presumptive Republican nominee for president.
John McCain’s vision is that of a “realistic idealist”: building an enduring peace based on freedom to secure our interests and those of our allies, and make the world safer and freer. He makes clear he is an idealist with a deep understanding of the world’s realities.
- “I am an idealist, and I believe it is possible in our time to make the world we live in another, better, more peaceful place, where our interests and those of our allies are more secure, and American ideals that are transforming the world, the principles of free people and free markets, advance even farther than they have. But I am, from hard experience and the judgment it informs, a realistic idealist. I know we must work very hard and very creatively to build new foundations for a stable and enduring peace.”
John McCain makes clear that he has a unique and personal understanding of the consequences of war.
- “I detest war. … Not the valor with which it is fought nor the nobility of the cause it serves, can glorify war. Whatever gains are secured, it is loss the veteran remembers most keenly. Only a fool or a fraud sentimentalizes the merciless reality of war. However heady the appeal of a call to arms, however just the cause, we should still shed a tear for all that is lost when war claims its wages from us.”
John McCain places the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan in a larger strategic perspective.
- “If you look at the great arc that extends from the Middle East through Central Asia and the Asian subcontinent all the way to Southeast Asia, you can see those pillars of democracy stretching across the entire expanse, from Turkey and Israel to India and Indonesia. Iraq and Afghanistan lie at the heart of that region. And whether they eventually become stable democracies themselves, or are allowed to sink back into chaos and extremism, will determine not only the fate of that critical part of the world, but our fate, as well. That is the broad strategic perspective through which to view our efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan.”
John McCain lays out a vision of collaborative relations with Europe, Latin America, Asia and Africa that will strengthen our alliances -- and our security.
- “At the heart of this new compact must be mutual respect and trust. Recall the words of our founders in the Declaration of Independence, that we pay ‘decent respect to the opinions of mankind.’ Our great power does not mean we can do whatever we want whenever we want, nor should we assume we have all the wisdom and knowledge necessary to succeed. We need to listen to the views and respect the collective will of our democratic allies. When we believe international action is necessary, whether military, economic, or diplomatic, we will try to persuade our friends that we are right. But we, in return, must be willing to be persuaded by them.”
This Week’s Note From Jo Ann:
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