Daily Kos

Foreign policy experience

Sun May 18, 2008 at 03:41:39 PM PDT

We've been barraged by the claim that Obama doesn't have any foreign policy experience.

According to Wikipedia,

A country's foreign policy is a set of goals that seeks to outline how that particular country will interact on an official basis with other countries of the world and, to a lesser extent, non-state actors. As well, an entire range of factors relating to those other nations - including economic, political, social, military, etc. - is evaluated and monitored in attempts to maximize benefits of multilateral international cooperation. Foreign policies are designed to help protect a country's national interests, national security, ideological goals, and economic prosperity. This can occur as a result of peaceful cooperation with other nations, or through aggression, war, and exploitation.

So, where do McCain, Clinton, or Obama have any foreign experience? When did any of them get foreign experience? As far as I see it, only from educating themselves in foreign policy, not by first-hand knowledge.  How can you unless you've been President of a country? So how is Obama any different in his education in foreign policy than Clinton or McCain?

Each Administration has their own Foreign Policy Advisor/s, do they not? Were any of them President of a country? I would hazard a guess and say no, they weren't.

How would a candidate prove they have foreign policy experience? By knowing what they're talking about would make sense. How would one do that? By having studied foreign policy, by understanding foreign policy, and by learning about foreign policy from their advisor's.

Until now, I've not heard Clinton or McCain speak on foreign policy to any great length. I may be wrong so correct me if I am.

I read a piece on Obama today and I have to say, the first thing I thought was how can anyone claim he would be naive in the subject.

Here's a snippet from the article Barack Obama is no John Kerry

The facts are on Obama's side, as they were on Kerry's, but Obama is quick on the draw. He is bold. And he will have all summer to pound McCain on the dangerous course he is plotting and to pull back the patriotic drapes to unveil his unvarnished militarism. Obama will try to dispel Americans' fears by downgrading foreign threats to their rightful place, to be managed with diplomacy--a lost American art.

Militarism is not foreign policy experience.

Tags: Barack Obama, John McCain, foreign policy experience (all tags) :: Previous Tag Versions

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