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• About the Campaign
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A New Foreign Policy |
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Peace Action calls on our elected officials to:
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Talking Points
1. Growing anti-American sentiment
is a threat to our security
2. Addressing global problems requires cooperation
not a unilateral foreign policy
3. International Law makes us safer
4. A doctrine of preemptive attacks is highly
destabilizing and offensive to our national values
5. The Bush Administration has blocked
international agreements that would make us safer
1. Growing anti-American sentiment is a threat to our security.
After the September 11th terrorist attacks, the world was nearly
united in its support for the United States and grief at our loss. A year
and a half later, the opposite is true. Anti-American sentiment has grown
dramatically worldwide. A recent Pew poll of dozens of nations concluded
that anti-Americanism is growing in every country surveyed, even in every
allied country. This hostility toward the US poses a long term threat to our
security. Dealing with fanatics like al Qaeda will require global cooperation,
not global resentment.
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2. Addressing global problems requires cooperation, not a unilateral foreign policy.
From the environment to the rights of women, from working
conditions to meeting the needs of the two billion people who live on $2
per day, the US would benefit more from genuine, constructive leadership
instead of sullen obstructionism. America will be far better off if we devote
our creative and economic energies to solving problems that the rest of the world
recognizes as long term threats.
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3. International Law makes us safer.
There is little doubt that international agreements such as
the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty or the International Criminal Court
benefit the US and the world community. The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty,
has unquestionably slowed and in many cases outright stopped the proliferation
of nuclear weapons. While all treaties are imperfect, international
lawlessness and an ethos of "might makes right" will prove
far more dangerous. The US would benefit more from establishing international
norms defining war crimes and the pursuit of war criminals than we would suffer
from the possible scenario of US personnel being prosecuted for war crimes.
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4. A doctrine of preemptive attacks is highly destabilizing and offensive to our national values.
If the US persists with a doctrine of preemptive attack it
will validate this behavior globally. Why shouldn't India launch a
preemptive attack against Pakistan or North Korea against South Korea?
Encouraging surprise attacks will lead to greater insecurity in many
parts of the world and encourage nations to place their weapons on a
launch on warning status, increasing the possibilities of accidental disasters.
Do we want our nation to make Pearl Harbor style surprise attacks our official policy?
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5. The Bush Administration has blocked international agreements that would make us safer.
The Biological Weapons Convention was established to enable the
world to monitor the possible development of biological weapons.
Enforcement of the treaty has been blocked, however, because chemical
and bio-tech manufacturers lobbied the Administration to oppose
international inspection of their facilities. Protecting our communities
from biological weapons as part of an worldwide agreement is more
important to our security than protecting corporations from international
inspections.
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Peace Action of New York State
475 Riverside Drive
New York, New York 10115
212.870.2304