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Remarks of Senator Barack Obama:
Renewing U.S. Leadership in the Americas
Miami, FL | May 23, 2008
[speech
to the Cuban American National Foundation,
Miami, emphases added by W.L.]
http://youtu.be/-4C8twg8DXY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4C8twg8DXY
It is my privilege to join in this week's Independence Day celebration,
and in honoring those who have stood up with courage and conviction for
Cuban liberty. I'm going to take this opportunity to speak about Cuba,
and also U.S. policy toward the Americas more broadly.
We meet here united in our unshakeable commitment to freedom. And it is
fitting that we reaffirm that commitment here in Miami.
In many ways, Miami stands as a symbol of hope for what's possible in
the Americas. Miami's promise of liberty and opportunity has drawn
generations of immigrants to these shores, sometimes with nothing more
than the clothes on their back. It was a similar hope that drew my own
father across an ocean, in search of the same promise that our dreams
need not be deferred because of who we are, what we look like, or where
we come from.
Here, in Miami, that promise can join people together. We take common
pride in a vibrant and diverse democracy, and a hard-earned prosperity.
We find common pleasure in the crack of the bat, in the rhythms of our
music, and the ease of voices shifting from Spanish or Creole or
Portuguese to English.
These bonds are built on a foundation of shared history in our
hemisphere. Colonized by empires, we share stories of liberation.
Confronted by our own imperfections, we are joined in a desire to build
a more perfect union. Rich in resources, we have yet to vanquish
poverty.
What all of us strive for is freedom as FDR described it. Political
freedom. Religious freedom. But also freedom from want, and freedom from
fear. At our best, the United States has been a force for these four
freedoms in the Americas. But if we're honest with ourselves, we'll
acknowledge that at times we've failed to engage the people of the
region with the respect owed to a partner.
When George Bush was elected, he held out the promise that this would
change. He raised the hopes of the region that our engagement would be
sustained instead of piecemeal. He called Mexico our most important
bilateral relationship, and pledged to make Latin America a "fundamental
commitment" of his presidency. It seemed that a new 21st century era had
dawned.
Almost eight years later, those high hopes have been dashed.
Since the Bush Administration launched a misguided war in Iraq, its
policy in the Americas has been negligent toward our friends,
ineffective with our adversaries, disinterested in the challenges that
matter in peoples' lives, and incapable of advancing our interests in
the region.
No wonder, then, that demagogues like Hugo Chavez have stepped into this
vacuum. His predictable yet perilous mix of anti-American rhetoric,
authoritarian government, and checkbook diplomacy offers the same false
promise as the tried and failed ideologies of the past. But the United
States is so alienated from the rest of the Americas that this stale
vision has gone unchallenged, and has even made inroads from Bolivia to
Nicaragua. And Chavez and his allies are not the only ones filling the
vacuum. While the United States fails to address the changing realities
in the Americas, others from Europe and Asia – notably China – have
stepped up their own engagement. Iran has drawn closer to Venezuela, and
just the other day Tehran and Caracas launched a joint bank with their
windfall oil profits.
That is the record – the Bush record in Latin America – that John McCain
has chosen to embrace. Senator McCain doesn't talk about these trends in
our hemisphere because he knows that it's part of the broader
Bush-McCain failure to address priorities beyond Iraq. The situation has
changed in the Americas, but we've failed to change with it. Instead of
engaging the people of the region, we've acted as if we can still
dictate terms unilaterally. We have not offered a clear and
comprehensive vision, backed up with strong diplomacy. We are failing to
join the battle for hearts and minds. For far too long, Washington has
engaged in outdated debates and stuck to tired blueprints on drugs and
trade, on democracy and development -- even though they won't meet the
tests of the future.
The stakes could not be higher. It is time for us to recognize that the
future security and prosperity of the United States is fundamentally
tied to the future of the Americas. If we don't turn away from the
policies of the past, then we won't be able to shape the future. The
Bush Administration has offered no clear vision for this future, and
neither has John McCain.
So we face a clear choice in this election. We can continue as a
bystander, or we can lead the hemisphere into the 21st century. And when
I am President of the United States, we will choose to lead.
It's time for a new alliance of the Americas. After eight years of the
failed policies of the past, we need new leadership for the future.
After decades pressing for top-down reform, we need an agenda that
advances democracy, security, and opportunity from the bottom up. So my
policy towards the Americas will be guided by the simple principle that
what's good for the people of the Americas is good for the United
States. That means measuring success not just through agreements among
governments, but also through the hopes of the child in the favelas of
Rio, the security for the policeman in Mexico City, and the answered
cries of political prisoners heard from jails in Havana.
The first and most fundamental freedom that we must work for is
political freedom. The United States must be a relentless advocate for
democracy.
I grew up for a time in Indonesia. It was a society struggling to
achieve meaningful democracy. Power could be undisguised and
indiscriminate. Too often, power wore a uniform, and was unaccountable
to the people. Some still had good reason to fear a knock on the door.
There is no place for this kind of tyranny in this hemisphere. There is
no place for any darkness that would shut out the light of liberty. Here
we must heed the words of Dr. King, written from his own jail cell:
"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."
Throughout my entire life, there has been injustice in Cuba. Never, in
my lifetime, have the people of Cuba known freedom. Never, in the lives
of two generations of Cubans, have the people of Cuba known democracy.
This is the terrible and tragic status quo that we have known for half a
century – of elections that are anything but free or fair; of dissidents
locked away in dark prison cells for the crime of speaking the truth. I
won't stand for this injustice, you won't stand for this injustice, and
together we will stand up for freedom in Cuba.
Now I know what the easy thing is to do for American politicians. Every
four years, they come down to Miami, they talk tough, they go back to
Washington, and nothing changes in Cuba. That's what John McCain did the
other day. He joined the parade of politicians who make the same empty
promises year after year, decade after decade. Instead of offering a
strategy for change, he chose to distort my position, embrace George
Bush's, and continue a policy that's done nothing to advance freedom for
the Cuban people. That's the political posture that John McCain has
chosen, and all it shows is that you can't take his so-called straight
talk seriously.
My policy toward Cuba will be guided by one word: Libertad. And the road
to freedom for all Cubans must begin with justice for Cuba's political
prisoners, the rights of free speech, a free press and freedom of
assembly; and it must lead to elections that are free and fair.
Now let me be clear. John McCain's been going around the country talking
about how much I want to meet with Raul Castro, as if I'm looking for a
social gathering. That's never what I've said, and John McCain knows it.
After eight years of the disastrous policies of George Bush, it is time
to pursue direct diplomacy, with friend and foe alike, without
preconditions. There will be careful preparation. We will set a clear
agenda. And as President, I would be willing to lead that diplomacy at a
time and place of my choosing, but only when we have an opportunity to
advance the interests of the United States, and to advance the cause of
freedom for the Cuban people.
I will never, ever, compromise the cause of liberty. And unlike John
McCain, I would never, ever, rule out a course of action that could
advance the cause of liberty. We've heard enough empty promises from
politicians like George Bush and John McCain. I will turn the page.
It's time for more than tough talk that never yields results. It's time
for a new strategy. There are no better ambassadors for freedom than
Cuban Americans. That's why I will
immediately allow unlimited family travel and remittances to the island.
It's time to let Cuban Americans see their mothers and fathers, their
sisters and brothers. It's time to let Cuban American money make their
families less dependent upon the Castro regime.
I will maintain the embargo. It provides us with the leverage to present
the regime with a clear choice: if you take significant steps toward
democracy, beginning with the freeing of all political prisoners, we
will take steps to begin normalizing relations. That's the way to bring
about real change in Cuba – through strong, smart and principled
diplomacy.
And we know that freedom across our hemisphere must go beyond elections.
In Venezuela, Hugo Chavez is a democratically elected leader. But we
also know that he does not govern democratically. He talks of the
people, but his actions just serve his own power. Yet the Bush
Administration's blustery condemnations and clumsy attempts to undermine
Chavez have only strengthened his hand.
We've heard plenty of talk about democracy from George Bush, but we need
steady action. We must put forward a vision of democracy that goes
beyond the ballot box. We should increase our support for strong
legislatures, independent judiciaries, free press, vibrant civil
society, honest police forces, religious freedom, and the rule of law.
That is how we can support democracy that is strong and sustainable not
just on an election day, but in the day to day lives of the people of
the Americas.
That is what is so badly needed – not just in Cuba and Venezuela – but
just to our southeast in Haiti as well. The Haitian people have suffered
too long under governments that cared more about their own power than
their peoples' progress and prosperity. It's time to press Haiti's
leaders to bridge the divides between them. And it's time to invest in
the economic development that must underpin the security that the
Haitian people lack. And that is why the second part of my agenda will
be advancing freedom from fear in the Americas.
For too many people in our hemisphere, security is absent from their
daily lives. And for far too long, Washington has been trapped in a
conventional thinking about Latin America and the Caribbean. From the
right, we hear about violent insurgents. From the left, we hear about
paramilitaries. This is the predictable debate that seems frozen in time
from the 1980s. You're either soft on Communism or soft on death squads.
And it has more to do with the politics of Washington than beating back
the perils that so many people face in the Americas.
The person living in fear of violence doesn't care if they're threatened
by a right-wing paramilitary or a left-wing terrorist; they don't care
if they're being threatened by a drug cartel or a corrupt police force.
They just care that they're being threatened, and that their families
can't live and work in peace. That is why there will never be true
security unless we focus our efforts on targeting every source of fear
in the Americas. That's what I'll do as President of the United States.
For the people of Colombia – who have suffered at the hands of killers
of every sort – that means battling all sources of violence. When I am
President, we will continue the Andean Counter-Drug Program, and update
it to meet evolving challenges. We will fully support Colombia's fight
against the FARC. We'll work with the government to end the reign of
terror from right wing paramilitaries. We will support Colombia's right
to strike terrorists who seek safe-haven across its borders. And we will
shine a light on any support for the FARC that comes from neighboring
governments. This behavior must be exposed to international
condemnation, regional isolation, and – if need be – strong sanctions.
It must not stand.
We must also make clear our support for labor rights, and human rights,
and that means meaningful support for Colombia's democratic
institutions. We've neglected this support – especially for the rule of
law – for far too long. In every country in our hemisphere – including
our own – governments must develop the tools to protect their people.
Because if we've learned anything in our history in the Americas, it's
that true security cannot come from force alone. Not as long as there
are towns in Mexico where drug kingpins are more powerful than judges.
Not as long as there are children who grow up afraid of the police. Not
as long as drugs and gangs move north across our border, while guns and
cash move south in return.
This nexus is a danger to every country in the region – including our
own. Thousands of Central American gang members have been arrested
across the United States, including here in south Florida. There are
national emergencies facing Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras.
Mexican drug cartels are terrorizing cities and towns. President
Calderon was right to say that enough is enough. We must support
Mexico's effort to crack down. But we must stand for more than force –
we must support the rule of law from the bottom up. That means more
investments in prevention and prosecutors; in community policing and an
independent judiciary.
I agree with my friend, Senator Dick Lugar – the Merida Initiative does
not invest enough in Central America, where much of the trafficking and
gang activity begins. And we must press further south as well. It's time
to work together to find the best practices that work across the
hemisphere, and to tailor approaches to fit each country. That's why I
will direct my Attorney General and Secretary of Homeland Security to
sit down with all their counterparts in the Americas during my first
year in office. We'll strive for unity of effort. We'll provide the
resources, and ask that every country do the same. And we'll tie our
support to clear benchmarks for drug seizures, corruption prosecutions,
crime reduction, and kingpins busted.
We have to do our part. And that is why a core part of this effort will
be a northbound-southbound strategy. We need tougher border security,
and a renewed focus on busting up gangs and traffickers crossing our
border. But we must address the material heading south as well. As
President, I'll make it clear that we're coming after the guns, we're
coming after the money laundering, and we're coming after the vehicles
that enable this crime. And we'll crack down on the demand for drugs in
our own communities, and restore funding for drug task forces and the
COPS program. We must win the fights on our own streets if we're going
to secure the region.
The third part of my agenda is advancing freedom from want, because
there is much that we can do to advance opportunity for the people of
the Americas.
That begins with understanding what's changed in Latin America, and what
hasn't. Enormous wealth has been created, and financial markets are far
stronger than a decade ago. Brazil's economy has grown by leaps and
bounds, and perhaps the second richest person in the world is a Mexican.
Yet while there has been great economic progress, there is still
back-breaking inequality. Despite a growing middle class, 100 million
people live on less than two dollars a day, and 40 percent of Latin
Americans live in poverty. This feeds everything from drugs, to
migration, to support for leaders that appeal to the poor without
delivering on their promises.
That is why the United States must stand for growth in the Americas from
the bottom up. That begins at home, with comprehensive immigration
reform. That means securing our border and passing tough employer
enforcement laws. It means bringing 12 million unauthorized immigrants
out of the shadows. But it also means working with Mexico, Central
America and others to support bottom up development to our south.
For two hundred years, the United States has made it clear that we won't
stand for foreign intervention in our hemisphere. But every day, all
across the Americas, there is a different kind of struggle – not against
foreign armies, but against the deadly threat of hunger and thirst,
disease and despair. That is not a future that we have to accept – not
for the child in Port au Prince or the family in the highlands of Peru.
We can do better. We must do better.
We cannot ignore suffering to our south, nor stand for the globalization
of the empty stomach. Responsibility rests with governments in the
region, but we must do our part. I will substantially increase our aid
to the Americas, and embrace the Millennium Development Goals of halving
global poverty by 2015. We'll target support to bottom-up growth through
micro financing, vocational training, and small enterprise development.
It's time for the United States to once again be a beacon of hope and a
helping hand.
Trade must be part of this solution. But I strongly reject the
Bush-McCain view that any trade deal is a good deal. We cannot accept
trade that enriches those at the top of the ladder while cutting out the
rungs at the bottom. It's time to understand that the goal of our trade
policy must be trade that works for all people in all countries. Like
Central America's bishops, I opposed CAFTA because the needs of workers
were not adequately addressed. I supported the Peru Free Trade Agreement
because there were binding labor and environmental provisions. That's
the kind of trade we need – trade that lifts up workers, not just a
corporate bottom line.
There's nothing protectionist about demanding that trade spreads the
benefits of globalization, instead of steering them to special interests
while we short-change workers at home and abroad. If John McCain
believes – as he said the other day – that 80 percent of Americans think
we're on the wrong track because we haven't passed free trade with
Colombia, then he's totally out of touch with the American people. And
if John McCain thinks that we can paper over our failure of leadership
in the region by occasionally passing trade deals with friendly
governments, then he's out of touch with the people of the Americas.
And we have to look for ways to grow our economies and deepen
integration beyond trade deals. That's what China is doing right now, as
they build bridges from Beijing to Brazil, and expand their investments
across the region. If the United States does not step forward, we risk
being left behind. And that is why we must seize a unique opportunity to
lead the region toward a more secure and sustainable energy future.
All of us feel the impact of the global energy crisis. In the
short-term, it means an ever-more expensive addiction to oil, which
bankrolls petro-powered authoritarianism around the globe, and drives up
the cost of everything from a tank of gas to dinner on the table. And in
the long-term, few regions are more imperiled by the stronger storms,
higher floodwaters, and devastating droughts that could come with global
warming. Whole crops could disappear, putting the food supply at risk
for hundreds of millions.
While we share this risk, we also share the resources to do something
about it. That's why I'll bring together the countries of the region in
a new Energy Partnership for the Americas. We need to go beyond
bilateral agreements. We need a regional approach. Together, we can
forge a path toward sustainable growth and clean energy.
Leadership must begin at home. That's why I've proposed a cap and trade
system to limit our carbon emissions and to invest in alternative
sources of energy. We'll allow industrial emitters to offset a portion
of this cost by investing in low carbon energy projects in Latin America
and the Caribbean. And we'll increase research and development across
the Americas in clean coal technology, in the next generation of
sustainable biofuels not taken from food crops, and in wind and solar
energy.
We'll enlist the World Bank, the Organization of American States, and
the Inter-American Development Bank to support these investments, and
ensure that these projects enhance natural resources like land,
wildlife, and rain forests. We'll finally enforce environmental
standards in our trade deals. We'll establish a program for the
Department of Energy and our laboratories to share technology with
countries across the region. We'll assess the opportunities and risks of
nuclear power in the hemisphere by sitting down with Mexico, Brazil,
Argentina and Chile. And we'll call on the American people to join this
effort through an Energy Corps of engineers and scientists who will go
abroad to help develop clean energy solutions.
This is the unique role that the United States can play. We can offer
more than the tyranny of oil. We can learn from the progress made in a
country like Brazil, while making the Americas a model for the world. We
can offer leadership that serves the common prosperity and common
security of the entire region.
This is the promise of FDR's Four Freedoms that we must realize. But
only if we recognize that in the 21st century, we cannot treat Latin
America and the Caribbean as a junior partner, just as our neighbors to
the south should reject the bombast of authoritarian bullies. An
alliance of the Americas will only succeed if it is founded on a bedrock
of mutual respect. It's time to turn the page on the arrogance in
Washington and the anti-Americanism across the region that stands in the
way of progress. It's time to listen to one another and to learn from
one another.
To fulfill this promise, my Administration won't wait six years to
proclaim a "year of engagement." We will pursue aggressive, principled,
and sustained diplomacy in the Americas from Day One. I will reinstate a
Special Envoy for the Americas in my White House who will work with my
full support. But we'll also expand the Foreign Service, and open more
consulates in the neglected regions of the Americas. We'll expand the
Peace Corps, and ask more young Americans to go abroad to deepen the
trust and the ties among our people.
And we must tap the vast resource of our own immigrant population to
advance each part of our agenda. One of the troubling aspects of our
recent politics has been the anti-immigrant sentiment that has flared
up, and been exploited by politicians come election time. We need to
understand that immigration – when done legally – is a source of
strength for this country. Our diversity is a source of strength for
this country. When we join together – black, white, Hispanic, Asian, and
native American – there is nothing that we can't accomplish. Todos somos
Americanos!
Together, we can choose the future over the past.
At a time when our leadership has suffered, I have no doubts about
whether we can succeed. If the United States makes its case; if we meet
those who doubt us or deride us head-on; if we draw on our best
tradition of standing up for those Four Freedoms – then we can shape our
future instead of being shaped by it. We can renew our leadership in the
hemisphere. We can win the support not just of governments, but of the
people of the Americas. But only if we leave the bluster behind. Only if
we are strong and steadfast; confident and consistent.
Jose Marti once wrote. "It is not enough to come to the defense of
freedom with epic and intermittent efforts when it is threatened at
moments that appear critical. Every moment is critical for the defense
of freedom."
Every moment is critical. And this must be our moment. Freedom.
Opportunity. Dignity. These are not just the values of the United States
– they are the values of the Americas. They were the cause of
Washington's infantry and Bolivar's cavalry; of Marti's pen and
Hidalgo's church bells.
That legacy is our inheritance. That must be our cause. And now must be
the time that we turn the page to a new chapter in the story of the
Americas.
http://www.barackobama.com/2008/05/23/
remarks_of_senator_barack_obam_68.php
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