Turning the Page on American Foreign Policy

Filed Under Barack Obama, Election 2008 | Leave a Comment

Last week, Senator Obama discussed American foreign policy and there is one part of his speech in particular that struck a cord with me:

And we know what the extremists say about us. America is just an occupying Army in Muslim lands, the shadow of a shrouded figure standing on a box at Abu Ghraib, the power behind the throne of a repressive leader. They say we are at war with Islam. That is the whispered line of the extremist who has nothing to offer in this battle of ideas but blame — blame America, blame progress, blame Jews. And often he offers something along with the hate. A sense of empowerment. Maybe an education at a madrasa, some charity for your family, some basic services in the neighborhood. And then: a mission and a gun.

We know we are not who they say we are. America is at war with terrorists who killed on our soil. We are not at war with Islam. America is a compassionate nation that wants a better future for all people. The vast majority of the world’s 1.3 billion Muslims have no use for bin Ladin or his bankrupt ideas. But too often since 9/11, the extremists have defined us, not the other way around.

When I am President, that will change. We will author our own story.

We do need to stand for democracy. And I will. But democracy is about more than a ballot box. America must show — through deeds as well as words — that we stand with those who seek a better life. That child looking up at the helicopter must see America and feel hope.

Turning the page on American foreign will require a new perspective, a new strategy, and new story of what America is, who America is, and what America can and must be. Senator Obama is the only one, so far, who has articulated a vision of presenting a new America to the world; an America of both words and deeds.

We do not need more of the same, but rather more of the different because this is a new day that requires new thinking.

If fundamental change is to occur in this country at the highest levels of government, then we need a leader who looks beyond what is political probable to what is practically possible. Senator Obama is that leader.