Your Daily Dose of Clark

Clark spoke to the Council on Foreign Relations today on the topic of Restoring America's Alliances.

Earlier this year, another British Prime Minister came to the United States. Before a joint session of Congress, Tony Blair told us: "There never has been a time when the power of America was so necessary." But like Churchill, he also delivered a warning. He said that we must work with our allies to defeat terror, and that "what America must do is to show that this is a partnership built on persuasion, not command." This time, however, our leaders did not listen. They did not heed the warning.

The key points of his plan for a New Atlantic Charter:

• Mutual Commitment - To address the security issues we face, America must declare its commitment to work with its democratic allies as a first, not last resort. European nations should make the same commitment
• Improving Rather Than Spurning Treaties - All allied nations must commit to improving international treaties and organizations rather than spurning them. This commitment includes the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, the Biological Weapons Convention, the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, and the Kyoto Agreement. Working on international agreements is not just good policy for the United States. It will breathe new life into the Atlantic alliance.
• Agreement on Action - Craft an agreement on collective responses - diplomatic, economic and legal - to new threats, including the menace of:
  • Terrorism
  • Failed states
  • Ethnic cleansing
  • International Disputes
  • Nuclear and Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation
• At Work Outside Europe - Work with our NATO allies on a political strategy to promote reform, human rights, and the rule of law in the greater Middle East. Look for inspiration from programs like NATO's Partnership for Peace.
• Willingness to Lead - Promise to return America to its historic role of peacemaker in the Middle East - by meeting, not abdicating, our responsibility to seek an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In recent weeks, past leaders of Israel's security services and the current Chief of Staff of the Israeli Defense Forces have said that military measures alone will never lead to peace in the Middle East. Clark agrees. We must encourage both sides to meet their commitments.
• Capabilities for Action - Set the conditions and create the capabilities to enable NATO to act. This reorganizes our government so that we can bring to bear the economic, diplomatic and political tools in our arsenal. And adapting our military not just for fighting contemporary wars, but also for peacekeeping and post-conflict operations.
• Force As A Last Resort - Only as a matter of last resort in the case of imminent danger NATO should prepare for collective preemption. "Of course," Clark noted, "unilateral action may be necessary when the threat is imminent, the evidence persuasive, and other options unavailable."

(summary cribbed from the Wes Points newsletter since I've had a very busy day and didn't want to deprive you all of your Daily Dose of Clark)

Don't miss The General tonight on David Letterman.