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Hot Topics:
IRAQ
& SMART Security Platform for the 21st Century Platform
Floor Statements
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America's Reputation is Improving, But There's More To Do (#323)
Watch Video | | July 27, 2009 | |
| Mr. Speaker, one of President Obama's greatest challenges has been to restore America's moral leadership and reputation in the world because it sunk to new lows under the previous administration.
To achieve this goal, the President has taken several important steps. He has renounced the use of torture. He has called for a nuclear-free world. He has reached out to the Muslim world, and he has promised to emphasize diplomacy and international cooperation.
We are now seeing the results of these changes. Last week, the Pew Global Attitudes Project reported the results of its latest survey of opinions about the United States. It found that the image of the United States has improved significantly under President Obama. People in Western Europe, Africa, Latin America, and Asia now have a much more positive opinion of the United States. America's reputation has even improved, Mr. Speaker, in some countries which are predominantly Muslim.
The survey also compared attitudes about President Obama and Osama bin Laden in the Muslim world. For the first time in the survey's history, people in Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, Nigeria, and Indonesia have a better opinion of the American President than bin Laden.
Mr. Speaker, I am encouraged that the people of the world have more trust and respect for America these days. It means our moral authority is being restored, and moral authority matters. When America is trusted, we have a much greater capacity for global leadership.
But even though our country's good name is being restored throughout the world, there is much more to be done. Most importantly, we need a foreign policy based on the principles of ``smart power.''
Smart power emphasizes preventing war instead of preemptive war. It relies on diplomacy and international cooperation instead of military occupation, and it gives the people of the world the hope and the opportunity they need to reject a life of violence and hatred.
The principles of smart power are included in my ``Smart Security Platform for the 21st Century,'' which I have proposed in House Resolution 363. The Smart Platform calls for America to work with multilateral organizations to cut off funding and support for extremist networks. It strengthens international intelligence and law enforcement operations to track down extremists while respecting civil liberties. It helps eliminate the root causes of instability by promoting economic development, Third World debt relief, conflict resolution, global health programs, and universal education. It increases support for civil society, which plays a key role in stopping violence. It reduces our dependence on foreign oil by investing in renewable alternatives.
Smart calls for diplomatic efforts enhanced by inspection regimes and regional security arrangements to reduce the spread of nuclear weapons and nuclear materials. It calls for the ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty by the Senate, and it provides adequate funding for the Cooperative Threat Reduction Program to secure nuclear materials in Russia and other countries.
Mr. Speaker, it is time for America to start relying on smart power to protect our country because the smarter we are, the safer we are going to be. |
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