New directions for foreign relations - John Kerry

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It has been a while since Kerry has had an editorial in the Globe.

This is a great editorial defining where Kerry wants to go with the Senate Foreign Relation Committee. Hopefully, there are enough voices in this direction to advance this agenda..


http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2009/01/13/new_directions_for_foreign_relations/

AS SENATOR Hillary Clinton appears before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee today for confirmation hearings as secretary of state, the foreign policy agenda of the US government is confronting many challenges. We are engaged in wars in different stages in Afghanistan and Iraq. Global climate change represents a potential catastrophe. The danger from the spread of nuclear weapons and technology remains significant.


Yet it would be wrong to infer that we cannot triumph over the torrent of troubles afflicting the world today. After eight years of unilateral decision-making on the world stage and log rolling and partisan paralysis at home, we have an opportunity to reshape the way the United States does business with the world. We can resolve these issues by reasserting our moral leadership and restoring the world's trust in us through multilateral problem-solving rooted in diplomacy.
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First, I will urge the Obama administration to embrace the goal of reducing our strategic nuclear arsenals to 1,000 deployed warheads and work to persuade the Russians to do the same. That number is more than enough to keep us and our allies safe, but it will tell the world that we are determined to fulfill our responsibilities to eventually eliminate these doomsday weapons. In conjunction, it is essential that the new administration immediately open serious discussions with the Russians on extending or replacing the landmark Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, which expires in less than a year.

Second, I will begin working to build the necessary bipartisan support for US ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, which would impose a worldwide ban on nuclear testing under the watch of a far-reaching verification regime. Winning approval of two-thirds of the Senate will be a long and difficult process. It will require the unyielding support of the Obama administration and my colleagues on both sides of the aisle. But success would be the single greatest arms control accomplishment for the new Senate and it would reestablish America's traditional leadership role on nonproliferation.
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And just as we must work with allies and other progressive nations to meet these challenges, we need the assistance of the international community to achieve stability in the Middle East and find a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Strengthening our alliances through leadership and cooperation will help when it comes to persuading Iran to abandon its nuclear weapons ambitions and to deliver the political and economic stability we seek in Afghanistan and across South Asia.

The common element in this formula for a new foreign policy is replacing military solutions and unilateral action with diplomacy and multi-national consensus. Clinton's work on the Armed Services Committee, her lifetime of public service, and her global stature have prepared her well to help pave this new road for American leadership.
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