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Good morning. We all know that these are not the best of times for America's reputation in the world. We
know what the war in Iraq has cost us in lives and treasure, in influence and respect. We
have seen the consequences of a foreign policy based on a flawed ideology, and a belief that
tough talk can replace real strength and vision.
Many around the world are disappointed with our actions. And many in our own country have
come to doubt either our wisdom or our capacity to shape events beyond our borders. Some have
even suggested that America's time has passed.
But while we know what we have lost as a consequence of this tragic war, I also know what I have
found in my travels over the past two years.
In an old building in Ukraine, I saw test tubes filled with anthrax and the plague lying
virtually unlocked and unguarded -- dangers we were told could only be secured with America's
help.
On a trip to the Middle East, I met Israelis and Palestinians who told me that peace remains
a distant hope without the promise of American leadership.
At a camp along the border of Chad and Darfur, refugees begged for America to step in and
help stop the genocide that has taken their mothers and fathers, sons and daughters.
And along the crowded streets of Kenya, I met throngs of children who asked if they'd
ever get the chance to visit that magical place called America.
So I reject the notion that the American moment has passed. I dismiss the cynics who say that
this new century cannot be another when, in the words of President Franklin Roosevelt,
we lead the world in battling immediate evils and promoting the ultimate good.
I still believe that America is the last, best hope of Earth. We just have to show the
world why this is so. This President may occupy the White House, but for the last six years
the position of leader of the free world has remained open. And it's time to fill that
role once more.
I believe that the single most important job of any President is to protect the American
people. And I am equally convinced that doing that job effectively in the 21st century will
require a new vision of American leadership and a new conception of our national security
-- a vision that draws from the lessons of the past, but is not bound by outdated thinking.
In today's globalized world, the security of the American people is inextricably linked
to the security of all people. When narco-trafficking and corruption threaten democracy in Latin
America, it's America's problem too. When poor villagers in Indonesia have no choice
but to send chickens to market infected with avian flu, it cannot be seen as a distant
concern. When religious schools in Pakistan teach hatred to young children, our children
are threatened as well.
Whether it's global terrorism or pandemic disease, dramatic climate change or the proliferation
of weapons of mass annihilation, the threats we face at the dawn of the 21st century can
no longer be contained by borders and boundaries.
The horrific attacks on that clear September day awakened us to this new reality. And after
9/11, millions around the world were ready to stand with us. They were willing to rally
to our cause because it was their cause too -- because they knew that if America led the
world toward a new era of global cooperation, it would advance the security of people in
our nation and all nations.
We now know how badly this Administration squandered that opportunity. In 2002, I stated
my opposition to the war in Iraq, not only because it was an unnecessary diversion from
the struggle against the terrorists who attacked us on September 11th, but also because it
was based on a fundamental misunderstanding of the threats that 9/11 brought to light.
I believed then, and believe now, that it was based on old ideologies and outdated strategies
-- a determination to fight a 21st century struggle with a 20th century mindset.
There is no doubt that the mistakes of the past six years have made our current task
more difficult. World opinion has turned against us. And after all the lives lost and the billions
of dollars spent, many Americans may find it tempting to turn inward, and cede our claim
of leadership in world affairs.
I insist, however, that such an abandonment of our leadership is a mistake we must not
make. America cannot meet the threats of this century alone, but the world cannot meet them
without America. We must neither retreat from the world nor try to bully it into submission
-- we must lead the world, by deed and example.
We must lead by building a 21st century military to ensure the security of our people and advance
the security of all people. We must lead by marshalling a global effort to stop the spread
of the world's most dangerous weapons. We must lead by building and strengthening the
partnerships and alliances necessary to meet our common challenges and defeat our common
threats.
And America must lead by reaching out to all those living disconnected lives of despair
in the world's forgotten corners -- because while there will always be those who succumb
to hate and strap bombs to their bodies, there are millions more who want to take another
path -- who want our beacon of hope to shine its light their way.
This election offers us the chance to turn the page and open a new chapter in American
leadership. The disappointment that so many around the world feel toward America right
now is only a testament to the high expectations they hold for us. We must meet those expectations
again, not because being respected is an end in itself, but because the security of America
and the wider world demands it.
This will require a new spirit -- not of bluster and bombast, but of quiet confidence and sober
intelligence, a spirit of care and renewed competence. It will also require a new leader.
And as a candidate for President of the United States, I am asking you to entrust me with
that responsibility.
There are five ways America will begin to lead again when I'm President. Five ways to
let the world know that we are committed to our common security, invested in our common
humanity, and still a beacon of freedom and justice for the world.
The first way America will lead is by bringing a responsible end to this war in Iraq and
refocusing on the critical challenges in the broader region.
In a speech five months ago, I argued that there can be no military solution to what
has become a political conflict between Sunni and ***'a factions. And I laid out a plan
that I still believe offers the best chance of pressuring these warring factions toward
a political settlement -- a phased withdrawal of American forces with the goal of removing
all combat brigades from Iraq by March 31st, 2008.
I acknowledged at the time that there are risks involved in such an approach. That is
why my plan provides for an over-the-horizon force that could prevent chaos in the wider
region, and allows for a limited number of troops to remain in Iraq to fight al Qaeda
and other terrorists.
But my plan also makes clear that continued U.S. commitment to Iraq depends on the Iraqi
government meeting a series of well-defined benchmarks necessary to reach a political
settlement. Thus far, the Iraqi government has made very little progress in meeting any
of the benchmarks, in part because the President has refused time and again to tell the Iraqi
government that we will not be there forever. The President's escalation of U.S. forces
may bring a temporary reduction in the violence in Baghdad, at the price of increased U.S.
casualties -- though the experience so far is not encouraging. But it cannot change the
political dynamic in Iraq. A phased withdrawal can.
Moreover, until we change our approach in Iraq, it will be increasingly difficult to
refocus our efforts on the challenges in the wider region -- on the conflict in the Middle
East, where Hamas and Hezbollah feel emboldened and Israel's prospects for a secure peace
seem uncertain; on Iran, which has been strengthened by the war in Iraq; and on Afghanistan, where
more American forces are needed to battle al Qaeda, track down Osama bin Laden, and
stop that country from backsliding toward instability.
Burdened by Iraq, our lackluster diplomatic efforts leave a huge void. Our interests are
best served when people and governments from Jerusalem and Amman to Damascus and Tehran
understand that America will stand with our friends, work hard to build a peaceful Middle
East, and refuse to cede the future of the region to those who seek perpetual conflict
and instability. Such effective diplomacy cannot be done on the cheap, nor can it be
warped by an ongoing occupation of Iraq. Instead, it will require patient, sustained effort,
and the personal commitment of the President of the United States. That is a commitment
I intend to make.
The second way America will lead again is by building the first truly 21st century military
and showing wisdom in how we deploy it.
We must maintain the strongest, best-equipped military in the world in order to defeat and
deter conventional threats. But while sustaining our technological edge will always be central
to our national security, the ability to put boots on the ground will be critical in eliminating
the shadowy terrorist networks we now face. This is why our country's greatest military
asset is the men and women who wear the uniform of the United States.
This administration's first Secretary of Defense proudly acknowledged that he had inherited the greatest fighting
force in the nation's history. Six years later, he handed over a force that has been stretched
to the breaking point, understaffed, and struggling to repair its equipment.
Two-thirds of the Army is now rated "not ready" for combat. 88% of the National Guard is not
ready to deploy overseas, and many units cannot respond to a domestic emergency.
Our men and women in uniform are performing heroically around the world in some of the
most difficult conditions imaginable. But the war in Afghanistan and the ill-advised
invasion of Iraq have clearly demonstrated the consequences of underestimating the number
of troops required to fight two wars and defend our homeland. That's why I strongly support
the expansion of our ground forces by adding 65,000 soldiers to the Army and 27,000 Marines.
But adding troops isn't just about meeting a quota. It's about recruiting the best and
brightest to service, and it's about keeping them in service by providing them with the
first-rate equipment, armor, training, and incentives they deserve. It's about providing
funding to enable the National Guard to achieve an adequate state of readiness again. And
it's about honoring our veterans by giving them the respect and dignity they deserve
and the care and benefits they have earned.
A 21st century military will also require us to invest in our men and women's ability
to succeed in today's complicated conflicts. We know that on the streets of Baghdad, a
little bit of Arabic can actually provide security to our soldiers. Yet, just a year
ago, less than 1% of the American military could speak a language such as Arabic, Mandarin,
Hindi, Urdu, or Korean. It's time we recognize these as critical skills for our military,
and it's time we recruit and train for them.
Former Secretary Rumsfeld said, "You go to war with the Army you have, not the one you
want." I say that if the need arises when I'm President, the Army we have will be the
Army we need.
Of course, how we use our armed forces matters just as much as how they are prepared.
No President should ever hesitate to use force -- unilaterally if necessary -- to protect
ourselves and our vital interests when we are attacked or imminently threatened. But
when we use force in situations other than self-defense, we should make every effort
to garner the clear support and participation of others -- the kind of burden-sharing and
support President George H.W. Bush mustered before he launched Operation Desert Storm.
And when we do send our men and women into harm's way, we must also clearly define the
mission, prescribe concrete political and military objectives, seek out advice of our
military commanders, evaluate the intelligence, plan accordingly, and ensure that our troops
have the resources, support, and equipment they need to protect themselves and fulfill
their mission.
We must take these steps with the knowledge that while sometimes necessary, force is the
costliest weapon in the arsenal of American power in terms of lives and treasure. And
it's far from the only measure of our strength.
In order to advance our national security and our common security, we must call on the
full arsenal of American power and ingenuity. To constrain rogue nations, we must use effective
diplomacy and muscular alliances. To penetrate terrorist networks, we need a nimble intelligence
community -- with strong leadership that forces agencies to share information, and invests
in the tools, technologies and human intelligence that can get the job done. To maintain our
influence in the world economy, we need to get our fiscal house in order. And to weaken
the hand of hostile dictators, we must free ourselves from our oil addiction. None of
these expressions of power can supplant the need for a strong military. Instead, they
complement our military, and help ensure that the use of force is not our sole available
option.
The third way America must lead again is by marshalling a global effort to meet a threat
that rises above all others in urgency -- securing, destroying, and stopping the spread of weapons
of mass destruction.
As leaders from Henry Kissinger to George Shultz to Bill Perry to Sam Nunn have all
warned, the actions we are taking today on this issue are simply not adequate to the
danger.
There are still about 50 tons of highly enriched uranium -- some of it poorly secured -- at
civilian nuclear facilities in over forty countries around the world. In the former
Soviet Union, there are still about 15,000 to 16,000 nuclear weapons and stockpiles of
uranium and plutonium capable of making another 40,000 weapons scattered across 11 time zones.
And people have already been caught trying to smuggle nuclear materials to sell them
on the black market.
We can do something about this. As President, I will lead a global effort to secure all
nuclear weapons and material at vulnerable sites within four years -- the most effective
way to prevent terrorists from acquiring a bomb.
We know that Russia is neither our enemy nor close ally right now, and we shouldn't shy
away from pushing for more democracy, transparency, and accountability in that country. But we
also know that we can and must work with Russia to make sure every one of its nuclear weapons
and every cache of nuclear material is secured. And we should fully implement the law I passed
with Senator *** Lugar that would help the United States and our allies detect and stop
the smuggling of weapons of mass destruction throughout the world.
While we work to secure existing stockpiles of nuclear material, we should also negotiate
a verifiable global ban on the production of new nuclear weapons material.
As starting points, the world must prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons and work
to eliminate North Korea's nuclear weapons program. If America does not lead, these two
nations could trigger regional arms races that could accelerate nuclear proliferation
on a global scale and create dangerous nuclear flashpoints. In pursuit of this goal, we must
never take the military option off the table. But our first line of offense here must be
sustained, direct and aggressive diplomacy. For North Korea, that means ensuring the full
implementation of the recent agreement. For Iran, it means getting the UN Security Council,
Europe, and the Gulf States to join with us in ratcheting up the economic pressure.
We must also dissuade other countries from joining the nuclear club. Just the other day,
it was reported that nearly a dozen countries in and around the Middle East --including
Syria and Saudi Arabia -- are interested in pursuing nuclear power.
Countries should not be able to build a weapons program under the auspices of developing peaceful
nuclear power. That's why we should create an international fuel bank to back up commercial
fuel supplies so there's an assured supply and no more excuses for nations like Iran
to build their own enrichment plants. It's encouraging that the Nuclear Threat Initiative,
backed by Warren Buffett, has already offered funding for this fuel bank, if matched two
to one. But on an issue of this importance, the United States should not leave the solution
to private philanthropies. It should be a central component of our national security,
and that's why we should provide $50 million to get this fuel bank started and urge other
nations, starting with Russia, to join us.
Finally, if we want the world to deemphasize the role of nuclear weapons, the United States
and Russia must lead by example. President Bush once said, "The United States should
remove as many weapons as possible from high-alert, hair-trigger status -- another unnecessary
vestige of Cold War confrontation." Six years later, President Bush has not acted on this
promise. I will. We cannot and should not accept the threat of accidental or unauthorized
nuclear launch. We can maintain a strong nuclear deterrent to protect our security without
rushing to produce a new generation of warheads.
The danger of nuclear proliferation reminds us of how critical global cooperation will
be in the 21st century. That's why the fourth way America must lead is to rebuild and construct
the alliances and partnerships necessary to meet common challenges and confront common
threats.
In the wake of the Second World War, it was America that largely built a system of international
institutions that carried us through the Cold War. Leaders like Harry Truman and George
Marshall knew that instead of constraining our power, these institutions magnified it.
Today it's become fashionable to disparage the United Nations, the World Bank, and other
international organizations. In fact, reform of these bodies is urgently needed if they
are to keep pace with the fast-moving threats we face. Such real reform will not come, however,
by dismissing the value of these institutions, or by bullying other countries to ratify changes
we have drafted in isolation. Real reform will come because we convince others that
they too have a stake in change -- that such reforms will make their world, and not just
ours, more secure.
Our alliances also require constant management and revision if they are to remain effective
and relevant. For example, over the last 15 years, NATO has made tremendous strides in
transforming from a Cold War security structure to a dynamic partnership for peace.
Today, NATO's challenge in Afghanistan has become a test case, in the words of *** Lugar,
of whether the alliance can "overcome the growing discrepancy between NATO's expanding
missions and its lagging capabilities."
We must close this gap, rallying members to contribute troops to collective security operations,
urging them to invest more in reconstruction and stabilization, streamlining decision-making
processes, and giving commanders in the field more flexibility.
And as we strengthen NATO, we should also seek to build new alliances and relationships
in other regions important to our interests in the 21st century. In Asia, the emergence
of an economically vibrant, more politically active China offers new opportunities for
prosperity and cooperation, but also poses new challenges for the United States and our
partners in the region. It is time for the United States to take a more active role here
-- to build on our strong bilateral relations and informal arrangements like the Six Party
talks. As President, I intend to forge a more effective regional framework in Asia that
will promote stability, prosperity and help us confront common transnational threats such
as tracking down terrorists and responding to global health problems like avian flu.
In this way, the security alliances and relationships we build in the 21st century will serve a
broader purpose than preventing the invasion of one country by another. They can help us
meet challenges that the world can only confront together, like the unprecedented threat of
global climate change.
This is a crisis that cannot be contained to one corner of the globe. Studies show that
with each degree of warming, rice yields -- the world's most significant crop -- fall by 10%.
By 2050 famine could displace more than 250 million people worldwide. That means people
competing for food and water in the next fifty years in the very places that have known horrific
violence in the last fifty: Africa, the Middle East, South Asia.
As the world's largest producers of greenhouse gases, America has the greatest responsibility
to lead here. We must enact a cap and trade system that will dramatically reduce our carbon
emissions. And we must finally free ourselves from our dependence on foreign oil by raising
our fuel standards and harnessing the power of biofuels.
Such steps are not just environmental priorities, they are critical to our security. America
must take decisive action in order to more plausibly demand the same effort from others.
We should push for binding and enforceable commitments to reduce emissions by the nations
which pollute the most -- the United States, the European Union, Russia, China, and India
together account for nearly two-thirds of current emissions. And we should help ensure
that growth in developing countries is fueled by low-carbon energy -- the market for which
could grow to $500 billion by 2050 and spur the next wave of American entrepreneurship.
The fifth way America will lead again is to invest in our common humanity -- to ensure
that those who live in fear and want today can live with dignity and opportunity tomorrow.
A recent report detailed Al Qaeda's progress in recruiting a new generation of leaders
to replace the ones we have captured or killed. The new recruits come from a broader range
of countries than the old leadership -- from Afghanistan to Chechnya, from Britain to Germany,
from Algeria to Pakistan. Most of these recruits are in their early thirties.
They operate freely in the disaffected communities and disconnected corners of our interconnected
world -- the impoverished, weak and ungoverned states that have become the most fertile breeding
grounds for transnational threats like terror and pandemic disease and the smuggling of
deadly weapons.
Some of these terrorist recruits may have always been destined to take the path they
did -- accepting a tragically warped view of their religion in which God rewards the
killing of innocents. But millions of young men and women have not.
Last summer I visited the Horn of Africa's Combined Joint Task Force, which was headquartered
at Camp Lemonier in Djibouti. It's a U.S. base that was set up four years ago, originally
as a place to launch counter-terrorism operations. But recently, a major focus of the Task Force
has been working with our diplomats and aid workers on operations to win hearts and minds.
While I was there, I also took a helicopter ride with Admiral Hunt, the commander of the
Task Force, to Dire Dawa, where the U.S. was helping provide food and water to Ethiopians
who had been devastated by flooding.
One of the Navy captains who helps run the base recently told a reporter, "Our mission
is at least 95 percent civil affairs. It's trying to get at the root causes of why people
want to take on the U.S.'' The Admiral now in charge of the Task Force suggested that
if they can provide dignity and opportunity to the people in that region, then, "the chance
of extremism being welcomed greatly, if not completely, diminishes."
We have heard much over the last six years about how America's larger purpose in the
world is to promote the spread of freedom -- that it is the yearning of all who live
in the shadow of tyranny and despair.
I agree. But this yearning is not satisfied by simply deposing a dictator and setting
up a ballot box. The true desire of all mankind is not only to live free lives, but lives
marked by dignity and opportunity; by security and simple justice.
Delivering on these universal aspirations requires basic sustenance like food and clean
water; medicine and shelter. It also requires a society that is supported by the pillars
of a sustainable democracy -- a strong legislature, an independent judiciary, the rule of law,
a vibrant civil society, a free press, and an honest police force. It requires building
the capacity of the world's weakest states and providing them what they need to reduce
poverty, build healthy and educated communities, develop markets, and generate wealth. And
it requires states that have the capacity to fight terrorism, halt the proliferation
of deadly weapons, and build the health care infrastructure needed to prevent and treat
such deadly diseases as ***/AIDS and malaria.
As President, I will double our annual investments in meeting these challenges to $50 billion
by 2012 and ensure that those new resources are directed towards these strategic goals.
For the last twenty years, U.S. foreign aid funding has done little more than keep pace
with inflation. Doubling our foreign assistance spending by 2012 will help meet the challenge
laid out by Tony Blair at the 2005 G-8 conference at Gleneagles, and it will help push the rest
of the developed world to invest in security and opportunity. As we have seen recently
with large increases in funding for our AIDS programs, we have the capacity to make sure
this funding makes a real difference.
Part of this new funding will also establish a two billion dollar Global Education Fund
that calls on the world to join together in eliminating the global education deficit,
similar to what the 9/11 commission proposed. Because we cannot hope to shape a world where
opportunity outweighs danger unless we ensure that every child, everywhere, is taught to
build and not to destroy.
I know that many Americans are skeptical about the value of foreign aid today. But as the
U.S. military made clear in Camp Lemonier, a relatively small investment in these fragile
states up front can be one of the most effective ways to prevent the terror and strife that
is far more costly -- both in lives and treasure -- down the road. In this way, $50 billion
a year in foreign aid -- which is less than one-half of one percent of our GDP -- doesn't
sound as costly when you consider that last year, the Pentagon spent nearly double that
amount in Iraq alone.
Finally, while America can help others build more secure societies, we must never forget
that only the citizens of these nations can sustain them. The corruption I heard about
while visiting parts of Africa has been around for decades, but the hunger to eliminate such
corruption is a growing and powerful force among people there. And so in these places
where fear and want still thrive, we must couple our aid with an insistent call for
reform.
We must do so not in the spirit of a patron, but the spirit of a partner -- a partner that
is mindful of its own imperfections. Extending an outstretched hand to these states must
ultimately be more than just a matter of expedience or even charity. It must be about recognizing
the inherent equality and worth of all people. And it's about showing the world that America
stands for something -- that we can still lead.
These are the ways we will answer the challenge that arrived on our shores that September
morning more than five years ago. A 21st century military to stay on the offense, from Djibouti
to Kandahar. Global efforts to keep the world's deadliest weapons out of the world's most
dangerous hands. Stronger alliances to share information, pool resources, and break up
terrorist networks that operate in more than eighty countries. And a stronger push to defeat
the terrorists' message of hate with an agenda for hope around the world.
It's time we had a President who can do this again -- who can speak directly to the world,
and send a message to all those men and women beyond our shores who long for lives of dignity
and security that says "You matter to us. Your future is our future. And our moment
is now."
It's time, as well, for a President who can build a consensus at home for this ambitious
but necessary course. For in the end, no foreign policy can succeed unless the American people
understand it and feel a stake in its success -- and unless they trust that their government
hears their more immediate concerns as well. After all, we will not be able to increase
foreign aid if we fail to invest in security and opportunity for our own people. We cannot
negotiate trade agreements to help spur development in poor countries so long as we provide no
meaningful help to working Americans burdened by the dislocations of a global economy. We
cannot expect Americans to support placing our men and women in harm's way if we cannot
prove that we will use force wisely and judiciously.
But if the next President can restore the American people's trust -- if they know that
he or she is acting with their best interests at heart, with prudence and wisdom and some
measure of humility -- then I believe the American people will be ready to see America
lead again.
They will be ready to show the world that we are not a country that ships prisoners
in the dead of night to be tortured in far off countries. That we are not a country that
runs prisons which lock people away without ever telling them why they are there or what
they are charged with. That we are not a country which preaches compassion and justice to others while we allow bodies to float down
the streets of a major American city.
That is not who we are.
America is the country that helped liberate a continent from the march of a madman. We
are the country that told the brave people of a divided city that we were Berliners too.
We sent generations of young people to serve as ambassadors for peace in countries all
over the world. And we're the country that rushed aid throughout Asia for the victims
of a devastating tsunami.
Now it's our moment to lead -- our generation's time to tell another great American story.
So someday we can tell our children that this was the time when we helped forge peace in
the Middle East. That this was the time when we confronted climate change and secured the weapons that could destroy
the human race. This was the time when we brought opportunity to those forgotten corners
of the world. And this was the time when we renewed the America that has led generations
of weary travelers from all over the world to find opportunity, and liberty, and hope
on our doorstep.
One of these travelers was my father. I barely knew him, but when, after his death, I finally
took my first trip to his tiny village in Kenya and asked my grandmother if there was
anything left from him, she opened a trunk and took out a stack of letters, which she
handed to me.
There were more than thirty of them, all handwritten by my father, all addressed to colleges and
universities across America, all filled with the hope of a young man who dreamed of more
for his life.
It is because someone in this country answered that prayer that I stand before you today
with faith in our future, confidence in our story, and a determination to do my part in
writing our country's next great chapter.
The American moment has not passed. The American moment is here. And like generations before
us, we will seize that moment, and begin the world anew. Thank you.