from last December, and I just think it is fantastic, and does speak at length about combating global terrorism ("terrorism" is defined as the radical islamist movement al Qaeda and any al Qaeda subgroups whose intent is to kill, destroy, and maim Americans, westerners, as well as other innocents all over the world so that they can create a utopian Islamist world). Here is the link:
http://blog.thedemocraticdaily.com/?p=1340One interesting piece of his policy vision is that energy independence is a key component for our national security -- I think that is a huge departure from the Bush Doctrine and worth noting. Here are a few excerpts:
For all their rhetoric about democracy, human rights, the hateful ideology of our adversaries, and international coalitions against terrorism, the President and his advisors have shown time and time again that they conceive the war on terror as almost exclusively a military operation. That’s why they’ve been so willing to bend every relationship and international institution–to bend, in fact, our own values and respect for norms of behavior America has long championed. Make no mistake, we are united in our commitment to track down and kill the evil men who would harm us. But that alone will not win the real war on terror.
The real war on terror is an even bigger challenge. It is a war that has drawn us smack into the middle of an internal struggle in the Islamic World. It is fundamentally a war within Islam for the heart and soul of Islam, stretching from Morocco East to Indonesia. -It leads, ultimately, to a struggle for the transformation of the Greater Middle East into a region that is no longer isolated from the global economy, no longer dependent on despotism for stability, no longer fearful of freedom, and no longer content to feed restive and rising populations of unemployed young people a diet of illusions, excuses, and dead end government jobs.
As the 2004 Arab Human Development Report tells us, “By 21st century standards, Arab countries have not met the Arab people’s aspirations for development, security and liberation … Indeed, there is a near-complete consensus that there is a serious failing in the Arab world …located specifically in the political sphere.” And in addition, in regions where the mosque remains the only respected alternative to the autocratic state structures, there is no credible secular alternative. So we are caught in a cauldron of religious struggle where today there is no center of moral authority that forcefully condemns those who murder in the name of Islam.
In the long run–and we’re in this for the long run-the war on terror cannot be won without the successful transformation of the Greater Middle East, and especially its Arab core. And our strategy must do what it takes to increase the internal demand for change in that region.
That means we are in a war of ideas and ideologies–but ultimately a war that must be fought and won within the Islamic world.
Here is a bit of his thinking on how oil plays a role in our problems:
And ultimately, that means we must liberate ourselves and the Middle East itself from the tyranny of dependence on petroleum, which has frustrated every impulse towards modernization of the region, while giving its regimes the resources to hold onto power.
We have to understand that the hostility to America and to our values that feeds the jihadist threat is the product of many decades of repressed debate within the Middle East. We’ve become the convenient excuse for the failures of the rulers, and the convenient target for the frustrations of the ruled.
And frankly, we’ve made that possible by signaling Arab regimes we don’t much care what they do so long as they keep the oil flowing and the prices low. That attitude must not only end; it must be reversed. Energy independence is not just a domestic priority for our country. It’s also essential to our national security, because our reliance on their oil limits our ability to move them towards needed reforms and props up decaying and sometimes corrupt regimes, including those that support terrorist groups. Any long-term strategy for winning the war on terror must therefore include a determined effort to reduce our dependence on petroleum. So many opportunities to do that are staring us in the face, but none have been seized with the urgency our security demands.
And these efforts have to be international in nature, linked to the rapid emergence of new energy technologies, in order to ensure that growing economies like China and India don’t just replace us as the enablers of Middle East autocrats.
So this is the long range mission in the war on terror: one, make sure the right side wins the war of ideas within the Islamic world; two, build up diversified economies and civil society; and, three, end the empire of oil. These three challenges make it abundantly clear this is not a war the United States should fight alone.
I sent this speech to Andrew, and he ignored it because he hates Kerry, especially since Kerry wants our troops removed from the immediate war theater in Iraq, while Andrew thinks they should stay and continue to be killed. But as usual for many pundits, he doesn't seem to get that such a strategic withdrawal will give us strength to be able to fight the real war on terror. And, of course, we would still be keeping our eye on al Qaeda in the region.
Anyway, hope this thread keeps going, because we need to start thinking about this, instead of just being anti-Bush (but still be that, too, just not only).