The Democratic Party just released its party platform titled “Renewing America's Promise.” It will officially be released at the Democratic national Convention in Denver next week. This report encompasses the party's approach to a whole slew of issues affecting the nation. Watch a party representative discuss the report at an event held at the New America Foundation in Washington last week below:
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There's a lot of material here, so I sifted through the document looking for places where the world “diplomacy” is mentioned. Here's what I found:
From the Preamble:
“The Democratic Party believes that there is no more important priority than renewing American leadership on the world stage. This will require diplomatic skill as capable as our military might. Instead of refusing to confront our most pressing threats, we will use all elements of American power to keep us safe, prosperous, and free. Instead of alienating our nation from the world, we will enable America ,once again ,to lead.“
Music to ones’ ears, no?
From the section titled “Renewing American Leadership:”
"The world must prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. That starts with tougher sanctions and aggressive, principled, and direct high-level diplomacy, without preconditionsBy going the extra diplomatic mile, while keeping all options on the table, we make it more likely the rest of the world will stand with us to increase pressure on Iran, if diplomacy is failing…"
Great use of diplomacy. But the key phrases in this excerpt are "without preconditions" and "while keeping all options on the table." The preconditions issue has been debated throughout the presidential election with the Republican candidate taking the position that talks with Iran can only be held once certain preconditions are met (for example, saying to Iran: "open up to inspectors first, then we'll talk"). This has also been the President's position, much repeated by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
The Democratic candidate Barack Obama has taken–and then softened–the position that talks should be held with enemy regimes without setting pre-conditions. The Democratic party apparently supports Senator Obama's original intent.
The phrase "keeping all options on the table" leaves open the possibility of military against against Iran. That is, if Iran were to refuse to halt its nuclear weapons program, and no diplomatic measure could prevent it from doing so, according to this platform, the US would resort to military action to stop the production of nuclear weapons. This language makes the doves nervous, but delights the hawks. You can guess who the Democrats are tying to please by including that phrase in the report.
So as not to overlook the doves, though, the authors drop the word diplomacy a couple of times in order to reassure those who may be worrying that the US might be gearing up for military conflict Iran, as well as those who may be worried that the US hasn't learned its lesson about the rush to war after the invasion of Iraq and the aftermath.
From the section titled “Invest in Our Common Humanity:”
"We will modernize our foreign assistance policies, tools, and operations in an elevated,empowered, consolidated, and streamlined U.S. development agency. Development and diplomacy will be reinforced as key pillars of U.S. foreign policy, and our civilian agencies will be staffed, resourced, and equipped to address effectively new global challenges."
This is a nod to those who have been fighting hard to make sure those in government don't forget the second and third “D's” in US foreign policy: Defense, Development, and Diplomacy.
All of the excerpts mentioning the word diplomacy up to this point in the report have been pretty non-controversial, and if I may say, pretty masterful. But the section titled "Stand with Allies and Pursue Diplomacy in the Middle East" might stir up some controversy, or at the very least, some editing. Read this excerpt, and remember that the purpose of this section is to explain how the US will "Stand with Allies (plural) and Pursue Diplomacy in the Middle East:"
"For more than three decades, Israelis, Palestinians, Arab leaders, and the rest of the world have looked to America to lead the effort to build the road to a secure and lasting peace. Our starting point must always be our special relationship with Israel, grounded in shared interests and shared values, and a clear, strong, fundamental commitment to the security of Israel, our strongest ally in the region and its only established democracy.
That commitment, which requires us to ensure that Israel retains a qualitative edge for its national security and its right to self-defense, is all the more important as we contend with growing threats in the region,a strengthened Iran, a chaotic Iraq, the resurgence of Al Qaeda, the reinvigoration of Hamas and Hezbollah…”
[The next three paragraphs discuss more detailed plans for helping resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict].
Now I’m no Middle East policy expert, but doesn't this section's seem a little narrow in focus? Don't get me wrong, the US relationship with Israel is important, and finding a lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians is exceptionally important BUT: there 25 countries in the Middle East, and we can definitely count our allies there on more than one hand. How come the only countries mentioned in this section are Israel, Palestine and a vague reference to Iran as a “threat,” and Iraq as “chaotic?”
I fear that the Democratic party's plan for pursuing diplomacy in the Middle East by focusing solely on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will cause US diplomacy to loose sight of the bigger picture in a region of great strategic importance.
