Today, Wes Clark delivered "The Real State of the Union," a keynote address before the New America Foundation. It was relegated to C-SPAN3, even tho there was no House agenda for them to cover--they aired a Republican conference instead.
I'll just post a few excerpts. The full text can be found at
http://securingamerica.com/node/560...today, I come before you with concern. Not in a spirit of partisanship, but because our nation is in trouble, veering from its heritage, and sliding into a dangerous future. It doesn't have to happen this way, but we can change course only if we speak honestly and directly about what's gone wrong, and why, and how we must change, and then reach across Party lines to bring the American people together.
Today, billions of people abroad believe that America's beacon is fading, our star is dimming, and that America’s time is passing. Why?
Because four years after 9/11, Osama Bin Laden remains on the loose in the fastness of western Pakistan, and Al Qaeda remains a potent force among millions of Muslims.
Because the threat of terrorism has actually increased, partly as a result of the unnecessary invasion of Iraq, where after almost three years, we find ourselves enmeshed in an intensifying sectarian struggle that is drawing in jihadi terrorists like a magnet and creating a new cadre of hardened opponents to America and our friends.
Because, despite our tough talk, Iran is discarding its international obligations in the apparent pursuit of nuclear weaponry, while simultaneously questioning Israel's existence and raising the specter of wider conflict in the Mideast
Because, North Korea, with a standing army of more than 1 million men, armed with chemical and biological weapons as well as long-range missiles, is defying US efforts to contain its threat of nuclear proliferation.
Because, in the process of this struggle against insurgents and terrorists and the proliferation of nuclear weapons, we are in danger of losing the very principles we are fighting for as revelations of torture and degrading treatment of those detained confound our long standing commitment to human rights and undercut our moral strength and leadership.
Because America's long-standing commitment to assisting democracy abroad was recklessly transformed into hot rhetoric and direct action in Iraq – and it has not only offended cultural and national sensitivities in the Middle East, but it is also contributing to the anger and violence in the region.
Because while we are distracted by the war on terror, Iraq and Afghanistan, rising global competitors like China are taking advantage of the security umbrella we have created to lock in their own access to the resources needed to fuel their stupendous growth.
Because the United States has stood silently while the historic opportunity of a democratic Russia is systematically crushed and other new democracies threatened by the same power ministries and entrenched authorities that enslaved hundreds of millions during Communism's long reign.
Because our oldest friends and Allies, in Europe and Asia, are questioning America’s commitment to the dialogue, institutions, and principles that kept us safe throughout the Cold War and even helped end ethnic cleansing in Europe during the 1990's.
The plain truth is, in America's rhetoric and conduct since 9/11, we've made more enemies than friends in the world - and that's no way to protect the American people!
And all of this at a time when Americans are more dependent on events abroad than ever before: the war in Iraq; the daily notification of losses; the threat of another terrorist incident; the rising price of gasoline, a global economy.
And here at home, to speak candidly, that beacon of hope is flickering also,
Because we’re losing our manufacturing base in America, and failing to face the realities of a global labor market, international trade and capital flows which are robbing millions of Americans of income security and have mired us ever deeper in debt.
Because, while, statistically, the unemployment rate may be a little below 5% now, according to the way the Administration measures, these figures mask millions of people in the ranks of the long term unemployed, or trapped in low wage jobs, or underemployed in jobs which fail to use their skills.
Because even highly skilled jobs in the so-called knowledge industry are moving abroad, with big firms like Microsoft and GE as well as thousands of highly competent foreign-born, US educated entrepreneurs and business leaders seeking new talent, lower-cost labor and less competitive, friendlier business environments.
Because at home more than 45 million Americans lack access to health insurance, a profound systemic failure and imposes a staggering human cost on those least able to bear it.
Because both our infrastructure and our system of public education have continued to decay, caught in a squeeze between rising costs for salaries, supplies, construction and repair, and rising federal deficits.
Because despite over thirty years of warning, this nation still has no policy to lead us to energy independence from the volatile and conflict-ridden regions where, today, the “geostrategic risk premium” is adding billions of dollars to the costs imposed on the American people.
Because the legal protections for the environment and natural resources on which so much of our economic welfare have been steadily undercut by new laws and policies, even as the Administration has tightened restrictions on the scientists and analysts who could tell us of the dangers ahead.
All this is common knowledge.
But what perhaps most surprising this year – despite the skill and dedication of our civil service, diplomatic, and military personnel - was the tragic incompetence of our government: failing effectively to assist the states in the terrible humanitarian catastrophe of Katrina, stumbling through a repetitive cycle of inflated rhetoric and crushing disappointments in Iraq and the Middle East, and frustrating millions of American seniors floundering through a poorly designed and badly under resourced Medicare prescription drug program.
Even worse has been the emergence of what appears to be a culture of corruption reaching from lobbyists, through the Republican leadership in Congress, and into the White House itself.
What’s gone wrong? In the last five years we have seen leadership without vision or foresight, a backwards look to tough talk and tax cuts, and a misguided idea from the 1990’s that uncooperative Middle East regimes could be “cleaned up“ by American military action. And at the same time we’ve seen such partisanship that many believe that this Administration lacks the basic decency to respect its political opponents, and the fundamental integrity to adhere to the usual standards of transparency, honesty, and ethics in government.
Enough is enough!
Here’s what we must do.
First, we’ve got to set things right at home. Protecting our Constitution comes first. Country before Party. Congress must fulfill its duties to the American people, not rollover for favors from the Executive branch. We need a full, in-depth, bipartisan investigation of the Administration’s bypassing of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. Congress needs to show resolve that the laws it passes do bind the executive branch, whether in wiretapping, humane treatment of prisoners, or the freedom of information act. Moreover, it is time for a special prosecutor, independent of the Department of Justice, to be empowered to investigate the Abramoff scandal, and pursue the leads all the way through Congress and up to the highest office in the land, if necessary.
Then, we have to focus on the principal challenge ahead: preparing our nation to succeed in a 21st Century world where capital and technology flows instantly across borders, where the labor market is global, and where the benefits and security Americans have taken for granted are put at risk as supergiant countries like China, with 1.3 billion people, grab resources, spur economic growth, redress old grievances, and seek to pursue their own interests.
Today, we are indisputably the world’s most powerful nation, but how we organize and prepare America at home, and provide leadership abroad, in the face of China’s growing power, is the real and enduring challenge that 21st Century America must answer. Can we protect that which we value, welcome and profit from China’s growth, maintain our own security, and avoid the conflict and war which has so often accompanied historical changes such as we will witness? I believe we can, if we see clearly what must be done and bend our will to do it.
It begins at home, for this is where the most intractable problems lie, with public education, health care, and creating a business environment that encourages innovation, growth, and the creation of meaningful valued jobs.
Fellow Americans, although our nation is incredibly wealthy and uniquely powerful, we are at historic turning point. Facing multiple near term crises and a great and long term challenge to our very identity as Americans, we have critical choices to make.
Will we choose to emphasize boastful rhetoric or constructive engagement abroad? Will we lash out in anger with military force, or will we pursue every reasonable avenue to avoid the terrible destruction of war? Will we “fight fire with fire,” relying on the means and techniques of our adversaries, or live and lead by the higher standard of the values we have professed? At home, will we persist in shortsighted partisanship, or will we follow a stronger vision to the deep reforms needed to secure our future? Will it be selfishness or shared sacrifice that is our rallying cry?
These are the choices before us.
This is the
REAL state of the union, folks. More people need to hear this. Please write
[email protected] or call (202) 737-3220 and ask them to re-air the program on C-SPAN tonight or over the weekend.
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