Issues
Intro text for Issues Page:
Focus on the Greatest Danger
Terrorist groups plotting from safe havens on Afghanistan's borders are the greatest threat to our security. Yet the Bush administration let itself be distracted from Afghanistan: now the Taliban insurgency is growing stronger, and the weak government of Afghanistan is threatened. Failure in Afghanistan will again allow Al Qaeda to operate unchecked. The U.S. must redouble its efforts in Afghanistan: by hunting terrorists, by increasing troop levels, by reengaging allies, by increasing reconstruction efforts, and by protecting and supporting the people of Afghanistan.
Prepare America to Deal with the China Challenge
China is a country on the rise – economically, politically, and militarily. Its dramatic economic emergence has a direct impact on the U.S., especially as our economies become increasingly interconnected. It is important to ensure that China becomes a responsible member and stakeholder in the international community, but we must also stand up to China when its actions conflict with our values and interests. China is not yet our friend, but it is not our enemy, either. How we manage this relationship will be of major importance to the future of the U.S.
Take Dramatic Action
Energy is a security issue. Oil has passed $100 a barrel, gas is approaching $4 a gallon, and American jobs and well-being are threatened. We need a comprehensive energy strategy to make our country, our livelihoods, and our environment more secure. We have lost time over the last eight years – and we are more dependent on fossil fuels than ever – but we have the technology to start making changes, we have public calls for action, and we have ready partners in other nations. The time for dramatic action is now.*
A Difficult Challenge Requires Firm Diplomacy Not Bluster
We need leadership that can engage Iran using smarter diplomatic strategies and tough-nosed negotiations, instead of depending on overblown rhetoric and threats of war. While the Bush Administration has refused to talk to Iran, the country’s influence throughout the Middle East has increased, and the threat of its nuclear program has grown. Bluster, isolation and incompetence have failed. Smart, strong leadership is needed.
A New Strategy to Make America Safer
The Bush Administration’s Iraq strategy has been a failure from day one. American troops have done everything asked of them, but military and civilian leaders agree that the solution to what has become a civil war lies in Iraqi politics. The reckless strategy has taken our eye off Al Qaeda, weakened our military and squandered our leverage around the globe. It’s time to end the war, begin removing our forces from Iraq, ask the Iraqi Government to stand on its own and focus on our real security priorities around the world.
Restore American Military Power
Our military is second to none, but eight years of negligence, lack of accountability, and a reckless war in Iraq have left our ground forces facing shortfalls in both recruitment and readiness. Every service is out of balance and ill-prepared. We need a new strategy to give the military the tools it needs for the challenges we face today. And we need leadership that meets our obligations to the men and women who put their lives on the line.
Focus on the Greatest Danger
Al Qaeda’s strength in remote areas of Pakistan forms the greatest threat to America’s security today. But the Bush Administration has put its priority on Iraq, taking its eye off the ball, and allowing Al Qaeda to regroup and plot against the U.S. Instead of finding Bin Laden, or building a reliable ally in a volatile region, the U.S. pursued a one-dimensional policy focused on General Musharraf and poured billions of unaccountable, unmonitored military assistance dollars into the country. We must shift our strategy to support Pakistan’s people, not just its military ruler, and help show that democracy and development can go together with effective counter-terrorism.
Get Our Eye Back on the Ball
It’s time to focus our priorities on what our intelligence professionals believe is the greatest threat we face – the terrorist safe havens on the borderlands of Pakistan and Afghanistan. We must use the full power of our military and intelligence services to capture or kill those who attacked us on 9/11, while pursuing a smarter policy that counters Al Qaeda propaganda and reduces its ability to recruit new adherents from around the Muslim world. Instead of focusing on our greatest threat, the Bush Administration invaded Iraq, and to this day continues to squander America’s resources on the wrong fight.
China
Iran