John Edwards Wants American Power To Be Smart Power

Instead of going to lunch or meeting my quota of new material for WTWC, today I spent my break listening to John Edwards give a foreign policy speech to the Council on Foreign Relations. It was a serious, thoughtful speech.

All the headlines focus on Edwards' rejection of the phrase "War On Terror." Greg Sagrent has written a post entitled "Edwards Didn't Always Oppose "War on Terror" Phrase" essentially pointing out that Edwards has used the phrase himself and implying he is has "flip-flopped."

Having actually listened to the speech it was clear to me that Edwards was saying that President Bush

has used (the global war on terror) doctrine like a sledgehammer to justify the worst abuses and biggest mistakes of his administration, from Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib, to the war in Iraq.

For better or worse Edwards is right. The phrase and the doctrine have become the shorthand justification for nearly any action taken by the administration. If the administration wants to deprive us of our civil liberties, they trot out the phrase "war on terror." If they want to invade Iraq they claim it is an essential component of the "global war on terror." Torture of prisoners is justified by the "war on terror." In the last two elections people were expected to vote for the President and his party because their election was essential to the "war on terror." The president used the war on terror as a club just this morning to justify remaining in Iraq.

According to Edwards:

The war on terror is a slogan designed only for politics, not a strategy to make America safe. It's a bumper sticker, not a plan. It has damaged our alliances and weakened our standing in the world. As a political "frame," it's been used to justify everything from the Iraq War to Guantanamo to illegal spying on the American people. It's even been used by this White House as a partisan weapon to bludgeon their political opponents. Whether by manipulating threat levels leading up to elections, or by deeming opponents "weak on terror," they have shown no hesitation whatsoever about using fear to divide.

But the worst thing about this slogan is that it hasn't worked. The so-called "war" has created even more terrorism—as we have seen so tragically in Iraq. The State Department itself recently released a study showing that worldwide terrorism has increased 25% in 2006, including a 40% surge in civilian fatalities.

By framing this as a "war," we have walked right into the trap that terrorists have set—that we are engaged in some kind of clash of civilizations and a war against Islam.

The "war" metaphor has also failed because it exaggerates the role of only one instrument of American power—the military. This has occurred in part because the military is so effective at what it does. Yet if you think all you have is a hammer, then every problem looks like a nail.

Edwards continued

Any new strategy must include new preventive measures to win the long-term struggle and fuel hope and opportunity. This includes strong and creative diplomacy, and also new efforts to lead the fight against global poverty. I've proposed a plan to lead an international effort to educate every child in the world. As president, I would increase foreign assistance by $5 billion a year to make millions of people safer, healthier, and more democratic, and by creating a cabinet-level post to lead this effort.

Any new strategy must improve how we gather intelligence. From my years on the Senate Intelligence Committee, I know how difficult this can be. We must always seek to protect our national security by aggressively gathering intelligence in accordance with proven methods.

Yet we cannot do so by abandoning human rights and the rule of law. As two former generals recently wrote in the Washington Post, "If we forfeit our values by signaling that they are negotiable... we drive... undecideds into the arms of the enemy." And we must avoid actions that will give terrorists or even other nations an excuse to abandon international law. As president, I will close Guantanamo Bay, restore habeas corpus, and ban torture. Measures like these will help America once again achieve its historic moral stature—and lead the world toward democracy and peace.

And finally, a new strategy must have a clear idea of how to rebuild the U.S. military.

Folks, I will admit it, I liked the core of Edwards speech. I also liked listening to a man who can carry a thought for paragraphs or even pages. I would like to have somebody like that as our President. It would be a refreshing change from the last two terms.

I would like to leave you with a comment made by one of Sargent's readers about Edwards alleged "flip-flop." Quoting John Maynard Keynes the commenter said, "When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do, sir?"

What a concept. A politician with the ability to learn and evolve.

I look forward to hearing the other candidates give their speeches at the Council on Foreign Relations. Its a great way to spend a lunch hour.