World Peace and International Relations

The new administration has made a dramatic impact on the world. America now stands for international cooperation first, working with our allies, forging new relationships and providing principled leadership. Remarkable presidential addresses around the world have helped America regain its rightful place as a light to the world, a beacon for hope, freedom, democracy and the pursuit of human rights.

As the conscience of the world we must restore the capability of multilateral institutions such as the United Nations and NATO, and use our economic leadership to leverage the capacity of foreign aid institutions to foster International peace and decrease poverty. We must change our domestic policies to ensure that our need for energy supplies and our current substantial debt dependence do not drive our foreign policy.

Terrorism is a plague, but the wars abroad have clearly demonstrated that even for the most powerful nation on earth, it is impossible to eradicate terrorism through war and brute force. Foreign intelligence, an effective foreign aid program and domestic policing are much more effective and less costly means of fighting terrorism.

The Obama administration has begun the process of concluding two wars that were inherited in Iraq and Afghanistan. Our Party vigorously supports these efforts as well as an end to the use of mercenary contractors. We must turn Iraq over to the Iraqis and Afghanistan to the Afghans. We reiterate our support for a timetable for the withdrawal of all combat forces from Afghanistan.

We honor our troops best by returning them home to their loved ones. We honor the valor of those who sacrificed their lives by bringing their comrades safely home to their families, and we honor the men and women of our military when we only place them in harm’s way against real and immediate threats against our beloved country they so nobly serve. We must also properly provide for this new generation of veterans upon their return.

The United States and the state of California suffer from an ongoing economic crisis, and while both wars continue to cost billions each month, we must face the truth: current and foreseeable domestic needs cannot be met given the demands of wars, which are paid for with borrowed money and not supported by a majority of California Democrats. Further cutting social programs while an open-ended military policy is being implemented is not consistent with the true needs of our country.

Finally we must have the courage of our convictions and trust in the belief that the American people will support truth over the fear-mongering of our political adversaries. It is the only moral path to take as we strive for world peace.

California Democrats support an international policy that will:

• Support a timetable for the withdrawal of our military personnel from Afghanistan;

• Support multi-party talks aimed at ensuring a democratic and legitimate representation of the people of Afghanistan and Iraq;

• Support the President’s efforts to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, using diplomacy and economic sanctions;

• Proactively seek a durable peace treaty in the Middle East;

• Cooperate with other nations to eliminate terrorism, increase literacy and child survival rates, combat poverty disease and malnutrition, bolster existing and new democracies and developing nations and reduce the support and demand for narcotics;

• Combat external threats through increased participation in and cooperation with international agencies, greater participation in peacekeeping operations, and through international collaboration in reestablishing sound government in failed and failing states;
• Sign, ratify and abide by the terms of the key international treaties that advance the causes of peace and human rights, such as: the Chemical Weapons Convention, the Biological and Toxins Weapons Convention, the Mine Ban Treaty, the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, the Convention on Discrimination Against Women, the International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities;

• Follow the Geneva and Hague Conventions. No torture. No extraordinary renditions. No exceptions;

• Commit our best efforts to the achievement of the UN Millennium Goals and enhance the capabilities of the UN and regional organizations;

• Set as an official long term, objective policy of the United States the elimination of all nuclear weapons around the world. Reallocate nuclear and other defense expenditures in a manner commensurate with actual threats. Enhance efforts to deprive terrorists of weapons of mass destruction by moving multilaterally to diminish stockpiles of such weapons;

• Affirm the mission of the State Department as the promotion of world peace and disarmament through diplomacy;

• Condition our own policies and actions and our aid to other governments upon respect for human rights;

• Tailor our own foreign policy to eliminate the worst pockets of poverty by targeting an additional one percent of our federal budget to aid and development;

• Promote population-planning worldwide through education and support for family planning organizations;

• Reduce our nation’s huge trade deficit and restore America’s global economic leadership by designing policies that maximize the benefits and minimize the negative consequences of globalization; and

• Structure fair trade agreements requiring countries to adopt and enforce key internationally recognized labor standards such as the right to associate and bargain collectively, and the prohibitions of child labor, forced labor and discrimination in employment.