Just a liveblog
Topic 1 -- Islamic Extremism.
We need to hunt down those who would resort to violence. Recognize Islamic world is diverse and has a history that is not opposed to universal traditions of law and order. Lumping all Muslims together is not an effective strategy--alienates allies.
What would you do if you captured Osama Bin Laden?
Bring full weight of U.S. and International Justice to bear down upon him. While I'm not a cheerleader for the death penalty, OBL would be eligible for it. But the fact that we have failed to capture him, seriously go after AQ, we're seeing the consequences of this in Afghanistan now. We've allowed the Taliban and AQ to regenerate themselves and I will correct when I'm President.
[The ease with which Obama speaks about Islamic traditions probably looks suspicious to bigots who believe in the Muslim smears.]
**Commercial Break**
Topic 2 -- John Mccain wants to expel Russia from the G8....
This would be a huge mistake if we want to get serious about nuclear proliferation. Without Russia, we can have no hope of reigning in nukes. China likewise--if we don't engage with China and exclude them from international process--we're not going to be able to address international terrorism and global economic issues. We have to have a clear sense of our values and ideals and not shy away from speaking up about human rights violations. We have to be tough negotiators with them. For instance, if China is not being cooperative on trade, there's nothing wrong with us being tough bargainers. But we have to engage and get them involved in dealing with these transnational problems. Tough, thoughtful, realistic diplomacy--what used to be a hallmark of bipartisan foreign policy in this country--Truman administration and GHW Bush used this approach. Both had a fairly clear idea of how the world works and it is always in our interest to engage, listen, and build alliances while we are fierce in protecting our interests. As powerful as we are . . . we need to show leadership through consensus and through pulling people together wherever we can. We may have to act unilaterally.
[He missed an easy opportunity to hammer McCain. McCain's outrageous statement about expelling Russia from the G-8 shows what a HORRIBLE foreign policy leader he would make. First, it is impossible. Second, it just serves to alienate people we need to work with us. It's GWB all over again.]
--What if you don't get that consensus, such as in Darfur? You want a no-fly zone, but U.N. won't go for it, so will you enact a NATO no-fly zone?
Sometimes it is the right thing to do. Such as in the Balkans. Even though we had no formal consensus. We should always strive to create genuine coalitions, not coalitions based on twisting arms and withholding "goodies" and ignoring legitimate concerns, but coalitions based on mutual self-interest. In Darfur, world has self-interest in making sure genocide doesn't occur on our watch because of moral issues but also because it ends up spilling over into other regions. Those are things we should pay attention to.
Topic 3 -- Jerusalem as an Undivided Capital of Israel. Why not chose Clinton plan?
Obama: poor speechwriting there. The point is that we don't want a Jerusalem that is barb-wired, and the Clinton position is a good starting point. I don't want to validate the final status of Jerusalem before the parties engage on the issue on their own. The overall tenor of that speech: Israel has an interest in creating peace with their neighbors. The Palestinians have to recognize that the approach they've taken is not effective. It's hard to just say "Let's be practical", but this is what the people are desperate for.
Topic 4 -- Iraq and Iran
Would leaving Iraq cede the region to iran?
We would not leave the region entirely, and we would have residual forces to make sure that AQ doesn't reform in the area and we would help out with Iraqi forces and protect humanitarian efforts and diplomats.
That might be a large force?
Well, I would determine that with info from the ground. We must make sure that the iraqi government has come to an agreement to divide oil revenues and ridding the government of corruption. The stronger the Iraqi government is on its own, the less likely that Iran is going to exert its influence. The assumption that Iraqi Shi'a are going to align with Iranian Shi'a ignores the distinction between the Persian Shi'a and Iraqi Shi'as. If the government in Iraq is perceived as an extension of the U.S. government, we would be driving the Iraqi Shi'a to align with Iranian Shi'a.