Gov. Bill Richardson delivered a well-received speech to the Center for Strategic and International Studies on Thursday as he laid out his plans to deal with the world’s most pressing issues by restoring America’s respect for other nations and rebuilding U.S. leadership.
You can watch the speech by clicking here.
Using wit and quotable one-liners, Richardson was highly critical of the Bush Administration as he detailed what he said are the six trends that are transforming the world and his plan to address them.
Those issues are:
• “Fanatic Jihadism”
• Growing criminal and terrorist enterprises
• The rise of Asia
• The reemergence of Russia
• Globalization
• Health and environmental issues that include global warming
On these issues, Richardson said, the Bush Administration has been guided more by “wishful thinking than reality,” by “dogma” instead of “fact,” by “ideology” instead of “history.”
As a result, Richardson said, “they’ve emboldened our enemies and isolated us from our friends. … They’ve confused our moral compass and compromised our national security.”
That has happened, Richardson said, because the president has used threats instead of diplomacy, has disregarded the opinions of the international community and has isolated the United States.
Richardson said he would, as president, lead the nation down a different path.
“This is a path not of hard words, but of hard work, a path of moral strength, not pious judgments, a path of strong diplomacy backed up by a strong military and strong alliances,” Richardson said. “This is the path of American leadership, a path that I believe can lead to an axis of reason to confront urgent global problems.”
“While diplomacy without power is weak, power without diplomacy is blind,” Richardson said. “… I know that even bad guys will listen to you when you hold a big stick in one hand and a carrot in the other.”
Richardson’s plan for addressing the issues
Richardson laid out seven ways he said he would address the problems facing the world.
• He called for repairing alliances and “restoring respect and appreciation for our allies all over the world.”
• Richardson said there must be a renewed commitment to international law and multinational cooperation. He called for reform at the United Nations that includes an expansion of the Security Council to make it more reflective of the world’s population. Richardson said the United States must show more respect for the Geneva Conventions and join the International Criminal Court.
He called for the United States to lead the way in a worldwide effort to “start taking Africa seriously,” and said genocides in Rwanda and Sudan could have been stopped more quickly if the United States had been committed to that happening.
• The United States must lead a “man-on-the-moon,” global effort to reduce manmade greenhouse gasses, Richardson said. He said he would accept the Kyoto protocols and improve energy efficiency, reduce fossil fuel consumption and focus on the development of alternative energy technology. Richardson said he has a 15-year plan to reduce U.S. imports of fossil fuels from 65 percent to 10 percent.
• He said he would stop “treating diplomatic engagement like a reward for others with good behavior,” saying the United States must negotiate with all nations. He said the Bush Administration’s “snubs and threats” have only worsened situations in Iran and North Korea.
• He said the United States must focus on “real security threats,” rather than Iraq. He called for increased funding for an effort to locate and secure nuclear material from the former Soviet Union, a focus on developing better intelligence and increased cooperation between agencies, more resources for securing potential terrorist targets in the United States and a reduction of nuclear weapons held by all nuclear powers, including the United States.
He called for the United States to combat radical Islam by helping moderates in that culture.
“For this to be credible, we need to live up to our own ideals as Americans,” Richardson said, adding that he would do that by closing the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, putting an end to torture and other practices that ignore human rights and complying with the Geneva Conventions.
• Richardson said the United States must pay more attention to “our own backyard,” Latin America. He called for comprehensive immigration reform and improved border security, and slammed the Bush Administration’s plan to build a fence along the U.S./Mexico border. He said the United States must work with “reform-minded governments” in Latin America to combat poverty and promote economic development.
• Richardson used that to transition into his last point: The United States, he said, must lead the fight against global poverty. He called for the promotion of new, equitable trade agreements that address wage discrepancies and human-rights issues, and for increasing American funding for health care in the developing world and public education in the Muslim world.
He also called for an increase in debt relief for third-world nations and an increase in grants, rather than loans, to those nations.
‘We cannot afford not to’
To those who say the United States can’t afford such action, Richardson responded by saying, “We cannot afford not to.”
“America must earn back the trust, respect and admiration of the world,” he said. “We can and will once again be the respected leader of nations. Our national security and our future depend on it.”
During a round of questions after the speech, Richardson was praised by many in attendance. And while introducing Richardson before the speech, the center’s president, John Hamre, called the governor “a man who has seen American policy from every vantage point.”
“He is a very serious candidate in both dimensions. He is a serious candidate as a political contender, and he has a serious intellect,” Hamre said.
Gov. Bill Richardson delivered a well-received speech to the Center for Strategic and International Studies on Thursday as he laid out his plans to deal with the world’s most pressing issues by restoring