The test of a great and powerful nation is not how many wars it can engage in, but how it can resolve international conflicts in a peaceful manner.
After nearly fourteen years of ill-conceived and disastrous military engagements in the Middle East, it is time for a new approach. We must move away from policies that favor unilateral military action and preemptive war.
- Our energy and climate change policies not only have enormous consequences for Americans here at home, but greatly affect our relations with countries around the world.
- The U.S. must do everything it can to reduce nuclear arms.
- We need agreements between the U.S., Iran, Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia regarding Iran’s nuclear weapons program, because it has the best chance of limiting Iran’s ability to produce a nuclear weapon, while avoiding yet another war in the region.
- The U.S. must play a leading role in creating a real two-state solution that recognizes Israel’s right to exist in peace and security and the Palestinians’ right to a homeland in which they control their political and economic future.
- We must begin to address the root causes of radicalization, work with our allies to root out terrorist funding networks, provide logistical support wherever it is needed, disrupt online radicalization, and support and defend religious freedom.
- The U.S. military must be equipped to fight today’s battles, not those of the last war.
- We must heed the warning of President Dwight Eisenhower’s 1961 farewell address about the dangers and influence of the Military-Industrial Complex, which is truer today than it was then. Our defense budget must represent our national security interests and the needs of our military, not the reelection of members of Congress or the profits of defense contractors.
- We must remain vigilant to protect Americans, whether from homegrown or international terrorists, “lone wolf” extremists, white supremacists, or a miniscule virus.
- We must rein in the National Security Agency (NSA) and end the bulk collection of phone records, internet history, and email data of all Americans.
- Our intelligence and law enforcement agencies must have the tools they need to protect the American people, but there must be legal oversight and they must go about their work in a way that does not sacrifice our basic freedoms.
- The U.S. must never again embrace torture as a matter of official policy.
- We must close the Guantanamo Bay detention center.
- We must move away from a policy of unilateral military action and toward a policy of emphasizing diplomacy, ensuring that the decision to go to war is a last resort.
- We must ensure that any military action we engage in has clear goals, is limited in scope, and whenever possible, provides support to our allies in the region.
- We must expand our global influence by promoting fair trade, addressing global climate change, providing humanitarian relief and economic assistance, defending the rule of law, and promoting human rights.
