Obama: Leader needed in foreign policy

[Ron Burgundy]

AP - Democrat Barack Obama said Tuesday the nation's foreign policy challenges call for a new leader who will worry more about doing the right thing than how it will look.

"There are moments in history when it is not enough to fall back on conventional ways of doing things, because the threats we face, the challenges we face, are unconventional," Obama told a crowd in Des Moines. "There are moments when we're called to stand up for what is right even if it's not popular, because that's what makes us stronger and safer. There are moments when new challenges demand new American leadership."

He said that for too long the conventional way of thinking about foreign policy has valued "time in Washington over timely judgments, posturing over pragmatism and fear of looking weak over the conviction to get things right."

He said he hasn't been afraid to buck Washington thinking when it comes to foreign policy, including his opposition of going to war with Iraq while he was a state senator in Illinois. He said he's the only Democratic nominee his Republican opponent won't be able to challenge on that point.

While Obama highlighted his record, he also said he's "running to do more than end the war in Iraq."

"I'm even more interested in ending the mind-set that got us into it. It's easy for us to lay all of the problems of the world at George Bush's doorstep," he said.

Rival Hillary Rodham Clinton has frequently questioned Obama's experience when it comes to foreign policy. On Tuesday, he brought out a group of policy advisers including Tony Lake, a national security adviser to former President Clinton, and Susan Rice, former assistant secretary of state for African Affairs under Clinton.

During last week's Des Moines Register debate, Obama was asked how he could offer a new type of foreign policy since several of his advisers once worked for Clinton.

Hillary Clinton laughed out loud at that, and said with a smile, "I'm looking forward to hearing that." Obama, also smiling, waited for the laughter to die down before saying, "Hillary, I'm looking forward to you advising me as well."

Obama mentioned the exchange in his remarks Tuesday, saying he's thankful to be joined by members of previous administrations.

"I look forward to drawing on all of the talent that I can get when I am president of the United States — because unlike George Bush, I'm not going to demand an ideological or loyalty test for my advisers," he said. "I don't intend to be surrounded by 'yes' men and women."

Obama said the U.S. continues to focus its resources on the wrong war, and instead should be doing more in Afghanistan. He said the U.S. troop increase was not the answer to Iraq's problems and was not achieving the needed political benchmarks.

"You cannot end a civil war unless the warring parties resolve their differences, and only a removal of our combat brigades in a careful and responsible fashion will put pressure on the Iraqis to do so," he said.

Obama said that conventional thinking when it comes to Iran has "prized bluster over common sense." He took a veiled swipe at Clinton, saying that when he was criticized earlier this year for calling for direct diplomacy with Iran, others were voting for an amendment that "called for George Bush to use our troops in Iraq to counter Iran." Then, he said, officials learned that international pressure had worked, and Iran suspended its nuclear weapons program in 2003.

He said bypassing diplomacy doesn't make the U.S. tough, "it makes us look arrogant." It also makes it more difficult to get international support and opens the door to countries such as China and Russia "to fill the vacuum left by the absence of American leadership," he said.

source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071219/ap_on_el_pr/obama_foreign_policy [link]