KERRY'S PRIORITY: NATIONAL SECURITY, NOT GLOBAL DEMOCRACY

Sen. John F. Kerry indicated that as president he would downplay the promotion of democracy as a leading goal in dealing with Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, China and Russia, instead focusing on other objectives that he said are more central to the nation's security.

Kerry, in a one-hour interview Friday night, also rejected the idea of setting a date for the withdrawal of U.S. soldiers from Iraq. Though the notion is gaining favor in more liberal parts of the Democratic Party, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee said "it is not a good idea just in a vacuum" because the timetable for reducing U.S. troops must be dictated by success in holding elections and establishing security and stability.

In many ways, Kerry laid out a foreign-policy agenda that appeared less idealistic about U.S. aims than President Bush or even former president Bill Clinton, a fellow Democrat. While Kerry said it was important to "sell [democracy] and market it" around the world, he demurred when questioned specifically about a number of important countries that suppress human rights and freedoms. He said securing all nuclear materials in Russia, integrating China in the world economy, achieving greater controls over Pakistan's nuclear weapons or winning greater cooperation on terrorist financing in Saudi Arabia trumped human rights concerns in those nations.

"Sometimes we are dealt a set of cards that don't allow us do everything we want to do at once," he said.

During the interview, he eschewed the soaring rhetoric on freedom and democracy that are commonplace in Bush's speeches or news conferences. At one point, he stumbled over his words when he tried to emphasize his interest in promoting American values: "The idea of America is, I think proudly and chauvinistically, the best idea that we've developed in this world."

Kerry said that "how fast you can do that [promote democracy overseas] and how rapidly others can embrace it and what can be expected over a period of time varies from place to place." Emphasizing his interest in setting realistic goals, he added: "Beware of the presidential candidate who just sort of says with a big paint brush we're going to make everything all right overnight."
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Last Thursday, Kerry outlined what he called his "foreign-policy architecture": rebuilding alliances; modernizing the armed forces; deploying diplomacy, intelligence, economic power and American values to overcome threats; and freeing the United States from its dependence on Middle East oil.

On Tuesday, he will give a speech outlining proposals on preventing a terrorist attack using nuclear and biological weapons, which include creating a new high-level White House coordinator to oversee his plan to secure nuclear material around the world and accelerating efforts to secure such materials in the former Soviet Union. Then, on Thursday, he will present his proposals for overhauling the armed forces.

Bush's campaign ads have sought to portray Kerry as a dangerous leftist who would undermine the war on terror, and the Massachusetts Democrat has countered with a foreign-policy critique that mainly challenges Bush on tactics, not fundamentals. Challenged in the interview on how his approach differed from Bush in certain areas, Kerry would often cite either more attention to detail or greater urgency -- in other words, competence over ideology.
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He said he would aim to set clear priorities after deciding what was most important and achievable in dealing with other countries. He also said he would balance those goals so no single objective overwhelmed the administration or left other concerns festering. He accused to the Bush administration of having an "Iraq-centric preoccupation" that left little opportunity to deal with other pressing problems.

"Do you think they know where Latin America is? It is all part of the same problem," Kerry said. "It is the distinction between what is cosmetic and what is real. In the 20 years that I have been here I have learned to distinguish between the two. This stuff going on is mostly rhetoric."
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Kerry said, "I think the first priority is keep those [nuclear] weapons" out of the hands of radical Islamists in Pakistan, with the secondary objective of crushing al Qaeda through better intelligence sharing with Pakistani security services.

Kerry evinced little concern about the possibility that Islamic parties could sweep elections in Middle Eastern nations if open elections were permitted. He said he would not try to thwart the results if it appeared Islamic parties might win.

"The last time I looked, except for Florida, an election is an election," Kerry said.

Gawd, can you imagine George W. Bush being able to conduct such an interview? Kerry's my main man. The more I know, the more pleased I am with his candidacy.

Link here.