Sept. 23, 1999

Change U.S. policy for changing times,
Bradley says

By Heidi Waldman
CyberCaucus 2000 News Service
Drake University

DES MOINES, Iowa–In a time of globalization and technological change, Democratic presidential candidate Bill Bradley said the world is connected in more basic, fundamental ways, and U. S. policy must change to meet those needs.

"I do not believe the United States should be the policeman to the world," Bradley said regarding the role of the nation in world politics. Rather, he told a crowd the United States should take action through international institutions such as the United Nations.

Bradley spoke Sept. 10, 1999, at a forum set up by the Stop the Arms Race Political Action Committee, a series created for candidates of both parties to have an open forum to discuss issues of war and peace. The forum was held at the First Unitarian Church in Des Moines.

One of the international policies that Bradley highlighted was the concept of the global village and the introduction of high-tech weapons. By bringing the world closer together with the ideas, the types of international threats in the last 50 years have changed, he said. The main threats now, he said, are terrorism, biological weapons, proliferation of nuclear weapons and cyber warfare. He said foreign policy must adapt to changes in order to continue working efficiently.

"One job of the next president of the United States is to define America's role in the world more clearly," Bradley said. He said the first way of doing this is by changing the American military and halting the creation of new arms. Bradley said without raising the defense budget, he believes it would be possible to provide adequate compensation and benefits for military troops by refusing to build new weapons systems or constructing more B-2 Bombers beyond the 21 already authorized.

Other issues Bradley touched upon were finding ways to raise more Americans up to middle-class status, reduce the number of children in poverty, narrow the racial divide and extend health care to more people. By doing these things, Bradley said, the nation as a whole would be more enriched.

"It's about the belief that the American dream is not just for the lucky among us," Bradley said.

Bradley didn't stop at the American dream for just Americans, he tied his ideas of improving the standard of living globally.

"I think our challenge for the country is to get more middle-class people in the world," Bradley said. "And if we had more middle-class people in the world, they'd be buying more of our exports."

While outlining his ideas on foreign policy and the need for open markets, Bradley said the United States needed to have good relations with four countries and Europe in order to maintain a stability. The first of the countries, in his view, is Mexico. To maintain stability in North America, it is necessary to keep Mexico's economy and political culture as steady as possible, Bradley said.

Japan was another country he said was important to U.S. foreign policy. Bradley said Japan has a vital position in the northeastern Pacific and helps the United States maintain a bilateral relationship there. The United States has security commitments there, he added, so the Japanese would not have to have a standing military. Maintaining Japan under the nuclear umbrella is important, Bradley said.

Russia -- "the first nuclear superpower in history to come apart at the seams" -- needs to be watched closely by the United States, Bradley said. He added that Russia is in need of stability so that it does not become a security risk to the United States. Bradley said by maintaining good ties with Russia, the United States can monitor its progress in becoming a stronger country, able to support its citizens.

Bradley said policy with the European community was has been historically important to the United States. It has been traditional for the United States to maintain strong ties with the European community, he said. Bradley, a former senator from New Jersey, said as a part of common international organizations like the United Nations and NATO, good relations are the foundation that international response is built upon.

The last country Bradley said was important to have good relations with was China. He said it would be easier to monitor China's activities in the world by having it participate in unions such as the World Trade Organization. "China and the United States are the two exceptional powers in the world," Bradley said.

Most reactions to Bradley's speech were positive.

Drake University employee Kevin Saunders and his wife Kay-Kay came to hear Bradley speak after meeting him at the Iowa state fair and seeing him on television. They are from Des Moines.

"I thought he was fantastic," Kevin Saunders said. "His knowledge on multiple issues on policies and politics is amazing."

"I think he represents a candidate with an important agenda that needs to be talked about in this election," Adin Davis from Des Moines said. "All the issues of the budget went out of the election when [Ross] Perot went out of the election. He [Bradley] represents a position of honesty." Davis is a member of the Iowa region of the National Conference for Community and Justice.

Through the "First Choice 2000: The Presidential Candidates on War & Peace Issues," STARPAC looks to raise "war and peace issues in the public dialogue." It also is asking candidates to pledge to support finding ways to move the United States way from "bomb diplomacy" when acting in situations of ethnic cleansing and civil wars around the world, abolishing nuclear weapons and shifting budget priorities away from excessive military spending and toward meeting domestic needs. Bradley was the first candidate to accept the invitation to come and speak. Harold Wells, chairman of STARPAC of Iowa, said Vice President Al Gore and Republican presidential candidate Elizabeth Dole may be future speakers.