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Tom Carper on Foreign PolicyDemocratic Jr Senator (DE) |
CARPER: Now that North Korea is where it is, we ought to talk with them and engage them directly.
TING: The reality is that we're talking to the North Koreas all the time, formally and informally. So that channel of communication is open. The key to any of our plans succeeding in North Korea is the cooperation of China and Russia. We ought to remember how Communism dissolved in Eastern Europe. In our contingency planning, we ought to think about how people can get out of North Korea. We need to reassure China that they won't be stuck with a million refugees. We ought to have alternatives in North Korea instead of only military solutions.
CARPER: We had a West Germany and an East Germany, and we were able to keep the lid on there long enough until they could become one country again. Our challenge with North Korea is to keep the lid on until those natural family attractions can go together and create one country.
The mood in Israel is one of hope, said Carper. Building strong relationships can go a long way toward building peace in the Middle East and benefiting a number of initiatives in Israel, the U.S., and Delaware.
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.
