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Will the spreading of democracy be the core of your foreign policy

Page history last edited by PBworks 16 years, 7 months ago

I want to stay on this subject but broaden out the conversation a little bit.

 

And the way I want to get into it is with a bit from President Bush's second inaugural address, where he made the spreading of democracy the core of his foreign policy. Here's what he said:

 

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

 

PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: So it is the policy of the United States to seek and support the growth of democratic movements and institutions in every nation and culture, with the ultimate goal of ending tyranny in our world.

 

(END VIDEO CLIP)

 

STEPHANOPOULOS: Governor Huckabee, since then, since that speech, there have been free elections in Gaza; they elected Hamas. There have been free elections in Lebanon; they empowered Hezbollah. There have been free elections in Iran; they elected President Ahmadinejad.

 

Has President Bush's policy been a success? And would the spread of democracy be the core of your foreign policy?

 

...

 

Gov. Romney: Helping Moderate Muslim States Defeat Extremism

 

ROMNEY: Just as these other two gentlemen have said, democracy is not defined by a vote. There have to be the underpinnings of democracy: education, health care, people recognizing they live in a place that has the rule of law.

 

And that's why our effort to spread democracy should continue, not to just spread votes, but instead to encourage other people in the world to have the benefits that we enjoy and to welcome democracy.

 

As Tony Blair said, ours should be a campaign of values, encouraging other nations to see what we have and want those things for themselves.

 

And there's no question in this country, we need to reach out, not just with our military might -- although that we have, and should keep it strong -- but also reach out with our other great capabilities.

 

There...

 

STEPHANOPOULOS: But did President Bush fail to appreciate the nuance you're talking about now? That's what I'm asking.

 

ROMNEY: I don't know what President -- all the things President Bush has done, but I can tell you, I'm not a carbon copy of President Bush. And there are things I would do that would be done differently.

 

I think when there's a country like Lebanon, for instance, that becomes a democracy, that instead of standing by and seeing how they do, we should have been working with the government there to assure that they have the rule of law, that they have agricultural and economic policies that work for them, that they have schools that are not Wahhabi schools, that we try and make sure they have good health care. We bring together not just America, but all the nations of the civilized world. We help draw these folks toward modernity, as opposed to having them turn toward the violence and the extreme, which Hezbollah and Hamas brought forward.

 

And that kind of a campaign of values, combined with our strong arms, speaking softly but carrying a strong stick, as Teddy Roosevelt said, that will help move the world to a safer place.

 

ROMNEY: We'd love it if we could all just come home and not worry about the rest of the world, as Ron Paul says. But the problem is, they attacked us on 9/11. We were here; they attacked us.

 

We want to help move the world of Islam toward modernity so they can reject the extreme...

 

STEPHANOPOULOS: Congressman Tancredo, your answer on this this week was...

 

(APPLAUSE)

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