Posted on 05/22/2004 10:37:36 AM PDT by demlosers
Former United States President Bill Clinton today slammed what he called the “unilateral” foreign policy of the Bush administration.
Clinton told an audience of about 1,000 Brazilian business and political leaders that the United States needed more international partners to fight terrorism.
“Rather than taking a unilateral path, we need to strengthen international organisations,” said Clinton. “We need more international partners.”
He was speaking in Sao Paulo at the inauguration of an academic institute founded by former Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso, who led the country from 1995-2003.
“In Iraq, we should have let the United Nations inspectors finish their job,” said Clinton. Any military intervention, he added, should have involved the United Nations and a broad multinational force, rather than the “coalition of the willing” currently on the ground there.
“Iraq is about unilateralism versus internationalism,” Clinton said.
“I have a different world view (from that of the Bush administration). I believe the United States should support the World Criminal Court, the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, the Kyoto (environmental) Agreement and other international efforts.”
He added: “Promoting health, education and democracy is also part of an anti-terrorism strategy.”
Cardoso echoed Clinton’s theme, saying: “The unilateralism we have seen in the last two or three years is very troubling. It goes against the grain.”
Commenting specifically on US policy in Iraq, Cardoso said: “Freedom brought by force is not freedom. The situation there is very worrisome.”
Clinton said the task of bringing democracy to Iraq will be “very challenging.”
He added: “There is no doubt that the Middle East would be better off with a democratic Iraq. However, democracy cannot be imposed anywhere. The Iraqis have to want it.”
Commenting more broadly on the prospects for democracy in the world, Clinton said: “On balance, I am very optimistic. Compared to 50 years ago or 20 years ago, democracy is advancing in the world.”
He added: “In the 1990s, for the first time in history, more people were living under democracies than under dictatorships.”
He said that, currently, the world boasts some 120 democracies among the nearly 200 countries.
Can anyone remember any other ex-presidents doing this? I can't and would like to know if it is typical of DemonRats or these two are just especially repulsive examples of the breed.
Being older than dirt, I cannot remember any ex-presidents running off at the mouth like these two outrageous examples. Other Rat presidents were more like the Republicans of our time.
Yeah; this country got started after we hashed out our differences with King George III over a nice cup of overtaxed tea.
What a maroon!
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