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Bill Nelson on Foreign PolicyDemocratic Sr Senator (FL) |
NELSON: The US has got to do everything possible to stop the continued nuclear program, through diplomacy particularly via China and South Korea. North Korea doesn't have a missile that is a threat to us at this point, but they can peddle those nuclear weapons. You put that in the hands of terrorist groups, and we have a whole new destabilization of the world. So at the end of the day the US has got to be successful.
HARRIS: Clearly, nuclear North Korea would be a danger to us. We will not negotiate bilaterally with terrorists. The former administration did so, and it was a failed strategy.
Q: At what point should we consider a military option?
NELSON: We don't want to have to use that option, because they have a million-man army. You do want to keep it on the table.
HARRIS: If the sanctions fail and none of the economic issue work, the final military option would be at stake.
“We dragged them kicking and screaming to set up a Holocaust commission,” Nelson said of his and the efforts of an international task force to recover from big insurers unpaid World War II-era policies. “And there was a lot more than just insurance still owed to victims.”
In fact, jewelry, art and other property plundered by Nazi Germany weren’t returned to Holocaust victims, a presidential commission reported this week. The report was part of an unprecedented half-decade campaign to re-examine what happened in the Holocaust, and recalculate what’s owed to survivors.
Build a Public Consensus Supporting US Global Leadership
The internationalist outlook that served America and the world so well during the second half of the 20th century is under attack from both ends of the political spectrum. As the left has gravitated toward protectionism, many on the right have reverted to “America First” isolationism.
Our leaders should articulate a progressive internationalism based on the new realities of the Information Age: globalization, democracy, American pre-eminence, and the rise of a new array of threats ranging from regional and ethnic conflicts to the spread of missiles and biological, chemical, and nuclear weapons. This approach recognizes the need to revamp, while continuing to rely on, multilateral alliances that advance U.S. values and interests.
A strong, technologically superior defense is the foundation for US global leadership. Yet the US continues to employ defense strategies, military missions, and force structures left over from the Cold War, creating a defense establishment that is ill-prepared to meet new threats to our security. The US must speed up the “revolution in military affairs” that uses our technological advantage to project force in many different contingencies involving uncertain and rapidly changing security threats -- including terrorism and information warfare.
A bill to impose sanctions on officials of the State Peace and Development Council in Burma, to prohibit the importation of gemstones and hardwoods from Burma, & to promote a coordinated international effort to restore civilian democratic rule to Burma.
(The two Senate versions currently differ in wording). The Saffron Revolution Support Act states that it is U.S. policy to:
Introductory statement by Sponsor:
Sen. McCAIN. The world has reacted with horror and revulsion at the Burmese junta's recent brutal crackdown against peaceful demonstrators. In crushing the Saffron Revolution, killing hundreds and jailing thousands, including countless Buddhist monks, the junta has left no doubt about its blatant disregard for basic human decency. We, as Americans, stand on the side of freedom, not fear; of peace, not violence; and of the millions in Burma who aspire to a better life, not those who would keep them isolated and oppressed. Our response must go beyond statements of condemnation, and the time to act is now. This legislation imposes meaningful and effective punitive action against the cruel, thuggish, and illegitimate Burmese government.
