 | John Edwards Democratic Candidate
North Carolina |
Click here to read John Edwards' response to ASIL's survey.
General - "We gained [the world's] respect by viewing our military strength not as an end in itself but as a means to protect a system of laws and institutions that gave hope to billions across the globe." John Edwards, "Reengaging With the World: A Return to Moral Leadership," Foreign Affairs, Vol. 86 No. 5, September/October 2007, p. 21
Counter-Terrorism/Detention - "As president, I will launch a comprehensive new counter-terrorism policy that will be defined by two principles - strength and cooperation.
The centerpiece of this policy will be a new multilateral organization called the Counterterrorism and Intelligence Treaty Organization (CITO).
Every nation has an interest in shutting down terrorism. CITO will create connections between a wide range of nations on terrorism and intelligence, including countries on all continents, including Asia, Africa, Latin America, and Europe. New connections between previously separate nations will be forged, creating new possibilities.
CITO will allow members to voluntarily share financial, police, customs and immigration intelligence. Together, nations will be able to track the way terrorists travel, communicate, recruit, train, and finance their operations. And they will be able to take action, through international teams of intelligence and national security professionals who will launch targeted missions to root out and shut down terrorist cells.
The new organization will also create a historic new coalition. Those nations who join will, by working together, show the world the power of cooperation. Those nations who join will also be required to commit to tough criteria about the steps they will take to root out extremists, particularly those who cross borders. Those nations who refuse to join will be called out before the world." Speech at Pace University, New York, 9/7/07
- "I will be the president who stands up for our individual rights and liberties. The first day that I'm president of the United States, I will close Guantanamo, which is a national embarrassment.
We will make it clear that America will not engage in or condone torture. There will be no illegal spying on the American people. There will be no secret prisons. This is not America. This is not who we are." KOS Candidate Forum, 8/5/2007
International Security and Non-Proliferation - "In working toward the goal of a nuclear-free world, the United states must lead the effort to strengthen the international nonproliferation institutions, not cast them aside. The rules and institutions we rely on to stymie and isolate bad actors, while providing strong leverage and instruments for measuring progress, are increasingly riddled with loopholes and gaps. We should create a new Global Nuclear Compact to bolster the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, which would support peaceful nuclear programs, improve security for existing stocks of nuclear materials, and ensure more frequent verification that materials are not being diverted and nuclear facilities are not being misused." John Edwards, "Reengaging With the World: A Return to Moral Leadership," Foreign Affairs, Vol. 86 No. 5, September/October 2007, p. 27
- "The international community needs new tools to fight proliferation. Instead of accepting the weaknesses of the global non-proliferation regime we ought to work to fix it. For example, I believe that we should create a new global nuclear compact to reinforce the NPT. This compact would be a new international agreement to close the loophole that allows civilian nuclear programs to go military. The new nuclear deal with India, in fact, is an opportunity to embark on a wider international effort." Speech at the Brussels Forum, 4/30/06
International Criminal Court - "[W]hen America doesn't engage in these international institutions, when we show disrespect for international agreements, it makes it extraordinarily difficult when we need the world community to rally around us to get them there.
We should be the natural leader in all of these areas, and, certainly, we should be a member of the International Criminal Court." Edwards Announces Bid for 2008 Presidential nomination, 12/28/2006
Climate Change and Environment - "In the coming years, we will most likely see an increasing need to stabilize weak and failing states and provide humanitarian assistance to the victims of disasters across the world." John Edwards, "Reengaging With the World: A Return to Moral Leadership," Foreign Affairs, Vol. 86 No. 5, September/October 2007, p. 28
- "A report issued in April by a group of 11 retired military officers, including General Gordon Sullivan, the former army chief of staff, and General Zinni, the former CENTCOM commander, described the potential of climate change to ignite a chain reaction leading to global instability. It could trigger conflicts over shrinking natural resources, weaken states through the creation of climate refugees, and hasten the spread of diseases and famine. We must act aggressively against this threat." John Edwards, "Reengaging With the World: A Return to Moral Leadership," Foreign Affairs, Vol. 86 No. 5, September/October 2007, p. 25
- "...[F]ighting global climate change will reduce global disruptions that could lead to tends of millions of refugees and create massive new breeding grounds for desperation and radicalism." Speech at Pace University, New York, 9/7/07
International Institutions/UN Reform - "The century ahead will bring new efforts by nonstate actors, ranging from terrorist groups to ethnically based local and regional movements, to redefine the boundaries of states, the jurisdiction of multilateral organizations, and the authority of international law." John Edwards, "Reengaging With the World: A Return to Moral Leadership," Foreign Affairs, Vol. 86 No. 5, September/October 2007, p. 24-25
- "We must therefore strengthen our relationship [with India] using both national and international tools: reforming the UN so that there is a place for India on the Security Council and working with India to help it achieve a credible and transparent plan to permanently separate its civilian and military nuclear programs." John Edwards, "Reengaging With the World: A Return to Moral Leadership," Foreign Affairs, Vol. 86 No. 5, September/October 2007, p. 31
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