Foreign Policy

By Gary M. Waayers

The United States must return to the United Nations and focus our leadership on working cooperatively with all nations for peaceful and just solutions to the many issues facing the world.

The world is a dangerous place. Kept all the more dangerous by people and governments that continue to deploy out-dated approaches to dealing with issues between nations. There are always going to be individual criminals, including terrorists and we need to protect, detect, and bring to justice those criminals. However, the United States can take the lead so we may begin to move to the point where there is never again a criminal nation.

There must be some way for nations to come together and work out the issues. The United Nations could be that venue; however, the United States has taken the wrong approach in the past to its relationship with the UN.

We are all familiar with the concept of marriage, the ultimate personal relationship. The relationship between nations should be approached the same as marriage. Decades ago the United States began approaching its relationship with the UN as a person does a fitness club, you could join and get access to equipment you do not have in your home, but if you do not join you are still able to get a workout.

The fitness of the world involves the deep and interactive relationship of nations. We are dependent on other nations for raw materials and as markets for our products. We share ideas, we share the air and water, and we share our food.

The United States is not outside the relationships we have with other nations. We do not have the option of leaving the relationships as one would leave when a membership expired in a fitness club. Many people in the United States would like to blame the United Nations for being ineffective at resolving the problems of the world. The UN is not going to be a magic pill to resolve the worlds problems anymore then you can just walk into a fitness club and expect your body to transform itself into the peak of health.

We need to approach our foreign policy with the concept that we are in a marriage to the world and that we need to work hard to get that relationship in the best shape possible. Like people in a marriage, nations maintain their individuality but recognize that they are part of and must take responsiblity for their actions with all other nations. The United States can become the leader to make this happen.

There is nothing new about the world being an interconnected, interdependent group of nations, regions, economies, and cultures. The economy, peace, and justice depend on how countries and regions interact and the perception of those actions by all groups involved. Real and perceived injustices often result in conflict within nations and between nations. We see the history of Northern Ireland, the Balkans, and Israel and Palestine. Once anger and hate get a foothold in a region it is difficult to make long term progress towards a stable economy, peace, and justice. As the interconnections between nations and regions become stronger due to our global interdependence, the risk of generating new conflicts over limited resources becomes ever more real.

The long-term foreign policy goal of our nation should be peace, justice, and economic and social equality for all. We need look no further then the Preamble of our Constitution for guidance on this; Establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity.

Our Congress has much to say about how our nation approaches these goals. The Congress has the responsibility to regulate commerce with other nations and to declare war. The Congress oversees foreign policy and the actions of our intelligence services through various select committees. The Congress also funds all government activities.

Our current Congress has passed on much of its foreign policy responsibilities on to the Executive Branch, the President. Due to the lack of proper oversight by Congress of the various intelligence services we the people incorrectly believed Iraq was in possession of weapons of mass destruction, and was ready to use them against nations in the region and the United States. The Congress voted to turn their Constitutional responsibilities to declare war over to the President to allow him to choose to go or not go to war with Iraq. We the people need our Congress to defend our Constitution. We the people need a Congress that will take all its responsibilities seriously.

In 1969 I took an oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States and defend it against all enemies, foreign and domestic. As your representative I give you my oath I will not sway from my oath to our country.

As a country we need to re-examine the treaties and agreements we have with other nations. We need to:

Insist that U.S. corporations maintain foreign business practices that don't jeopardize workers, damage their environment or interfere with their government.

Negotiate a General Agreement on Tariff and Trade (GATT) that promotes the economic development and self-sufficiency of recipient countries, rather than profitability for the G-8 countries.

Reevaluate our government's aid practices (USAID, for example) by emphasizing appropriate-level technologies, ecologically sustainable infrastructures and business projects, cultural sensitivity and monetary aid consistent with countries' real needs.

Encourage U.S. cities to develop municipal foreign trade policies centering around local trade agreements, "sister city" arrangements and cultural exchange programs.

Support and endorse United Nations conventions. Putting aside "new world order" rhetoric, we believe that the UN should finally be utilized for its intended purpose: it should act as an objective, multilateral body to maintain world order. The U.S. could help attain this objective by paying its UN dues on time.

Close all foreign military bases as soon as possible and clean up any toxic wastes left behind. Fair and responsible business practices would eliminate the need for such bases.

Military foreign aid should be discontinued. Any monetary foreign aid distributions should be provided as cash payments to foreign governments, or reliable non-government agencies. Recipient countries should have more authority in deciding how the money is spent, rather than simply using it to purchase U.S. domestic goods. All foreign aid should be based on the improvement of democracy and general living standards and/or to reduce overall suffering in the recipient country.