Feed: The State of the Union on foreign policy – Translated - AggScore: 13.0

The State of the Union on foreign policy – Translated

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divdivdivimg srchttpthecable.foreignpolicy.comfilessotu111.jpg alt divTonight emThe Cableem brings you the a hrefhttpthecable.foreignpolicy.composts20100127thestateoftheuniononforeignpolicytranslatedsecond annual editiona of our attempt to translate the foreign policy portions of President Obamas State of the Union addressspan styletextdecoration underlineOn TradespanblockquoteBefore I took office, I made it clear that we would enforce our trade agreements, and that I would only sign deals that keep faith with American workers, and promote American jobs. Thats what we did with Korea, and thats what I intend to do as we pursue agreements with Panama and Colombia, and continue our Asia Pacific and global trade talks.blockquotestrongTranslation I always promised to talk big on trade and theres no reason to stop now. We might actually get one FTA done this year...now that I dont have Pelosi to worry about. But if you were expecting specifics from me on the rest of them, you might want to stop holding your breath. These things are riddled with political land mines and they will get done only if they dont cost too much political capital.strongspan styletextdecoration underlineOn defense spendingspanblockquoteThe Secretary of Defense has also agreed to cut tens of billions of dollars in spending that he and his generals believe our military can do without.blockquotestrongTranslation Im going to follow Gatess lead here by pretending that proposed cuts to the defense budget are really cuts at all, rather than mentioning that Gates and I are actually asking for emincreasedem Pentagon funding. Aint semantics greatstrongspan styletextdecoration underlineOn IraqspanblockquoteLook to Iraq, where nearly 100,000 of our brave men and women have left with their heads held high where American combat patrols have ended violence has come down and a new government has been formed. This year, our civilians will forge a lasting partnership with the Iraqi people, while we finish the job of bringing our troops out of Iraq. Americas commitment has been kept the Iraq War is coming to an end.blockquotestrongTranslation Im going to continue to take credit for the one foreign policy problem that actually seems to be getting better and better. But if Maliki turns out to be another Mubarak, boy are we in trouble then.strongspan styletextdecoration underlineOn AfghanistanspanblockquoteThanks to our heroic troops and civilians, fewer Afghans are under the control of the insurgency. There will be tough fighting ahead, and the Afghan government will need to deliver better governance. But we are strengthening the capacity of the Afghan people and building an enduring partnership with them. This year, we will work with nearly 50 countries to begin a transition to an Afghan lead. And this July, we will begin to bring our troops home.blockquotestrongTranslation We can control more space so long as we have tons of troops on the ground, but we know that isnt going to solve the overall problem with Karzai. Either way, were going to have to try to put some lipstick on this pig and begin getting the heck out of there. But, for the meantime, lets just keep confusing everybody by throwing around unclear dates that mark unclear milestones until we figure out what we really want to do.strongspan styletextdecoration underlineOn PakistanspanblockquoteIn Pakistan, al Qaedas leadership is under more pressure than at any point since 2001. Their leaders and operatives are being removed from the battlefield. Their safehavens are shrinking. And we have sent a message from the Afghan border to the Arabian Peninsula to all parts of the globe we will not relent, we will not waver, and we will defeat you.blockquotestrongTranslation Yes, we are killing people in Pakistan when we can find them and hit them with drones, but Ill go ahead and gloss over the fact that our cooperation with Pakistan survives only as long as the Zardari government does. Weve proven to the Arab world that we cant be scared into withdrawing out of the region. Now all we have to do is figure out how to withdraw from the region again.strongspan styletextdecoration underlineOn Iran and North KoreaspanblockquoteBecause of a diplomatic effort to insist that Iran meet its obligations, the Iranian government now faces tougher and tighter sanctions than ever before. And on the Korean peninsula, we stand with our ally South Korea, and insist that North Korea keeps its commitment to abandon nuclear weapons.blockquotestrongTranslation Heres one sentence of lip service to each of the two perhaps most dangerous foreign policy problems without actually spelling out what I plan to do about either of them going forward. I cant understand why our drive to stop them from building nukes isnt working. I suppose if these regimes dont see it as in their interest to have positive relations with the United States, there isnt much we can do. strongspan styletextdecoration underlineOn Latin AmericaspanblockquoteThis March, I will travel to Brazil, Chile, and El Salvador to forge new alliances for progress in the Americas.blockquotestrongTranslation I was going to have to go to South America sooner or later. I guess if I can spin a visit with the Chinese president so it looks like we get along with China, doing the same with these three governments shouldnt be so difficult.strongspan styletextdecoration underlineOn Arab revoltsspanblockquoteWe saw that same desire to be free in Tunisia, where the will of the people proved more powerful than the writ of a dictator. And tonight, let us be clear the United States of America stands with the people of Tunisia, and supports the democratic aspirations of all people. We must never forget that the things weve struggled for, and fought for, live in the hearts of people everywhere. And we must always remember that the Americans who have borne the greatest burden in this struggle are the men and women who serve our country.blockquotestrongTranslation We havent pushed that whole democracy thing Arab dictators but we cant just come out and say we support their crackdowns on protesters, now can we I guess I can burn the former government of Tunisia but Ill stop short of mentioning the tear gassing of students in Egypt, lest my administrations own complicity in supporting that government come into focus. Hey, I guess maybe we can put a positive spin on WikiLeaks after all.strongspan styletextdecoration underlineOn China, Guantanamo Bay, the Middle East peace process, Belarus, development, foreign aid, the State Department, human rights, cyber warfare, the national export initiative, international currency, and climate changespanstrongNothing.strongdivdiv