Q&A Up from the Foreign Policy speech last week

[TayTay]

in New York. Sometimes the Q&A's are as good as the speeches. Decide for yourself at:

http://www.cfr.org/publication/9390/

[Mass]

1. Copy of the remarks I posted yesterday in another thread concerning

the Q&A.

I think this Q&A is very important to understand what Kerry is proposing.


For example, I noticed that he is proposing to keep a force in Kuwait, as Murtha is as well. This
is something I had not noted in previous speeches. He does not say this is to deal with Iraq, but to avoid problems with Iran by having both a force that would push the Iranian government to stay withing their borders and a diplomacy which would talk with the Iranians.

IMHO, the following part may be the most important part of the Q&A, though it does not deal with the M.E.. It seems more and more clear that the next goal of the neo-cons is China and that they want to start at best a cold war with it, and it would be catastrophic. I am happy that Kerry says clearly that he sees China as a partner and not the adversary that some would want (that does not mean we have to give them our jobs, but we have to work with them).

http://www.cfr.org/publication/9390 /

KERRY: Well, I believe China is an opportunity. Again, you know, I’m privileged to be the ranking member of that committee. I’ve been chairman of it. I can remember going to Shanghai around 1989, ‘90, and you could still see across the bond (ph) — Prudong was rice fields, paddies. It’s a city bigger than New York today. Anybody who’s traveled to China understands the stunning transformation that’s taking place and even how life there is changing as a consequence.

I don’t view China the way some people want to view it. I don’t think they’re hegemonistic, I don’t think that they’re — they want to be respected and they want to be taken seriously, and they’re a world power. And they’re going to be (a/the ?) preeminent economy of this century as we go forward, and we’re going to have to therefore do a lot of things differently in order to respond to that reality.

Needless to say, there are things we want to see them change on. Human rights. We abhor the political structure, but it is changing also. I mean, anybody who read about the last series of elections there, you’ve got to be just stunned by the competition even within the one party, with different people out there with different programs and criticisms of the government and so forth.

So I view China as an opportunity. I view it as a vital partner in our resolution of these problems that I talked about. And we need to be much more engaged. I remember being in China watching the prime minister — two or three prime ministers of countries arrive the same time I was there, all going to engage in commerce. And when I was in Hong Kong, our foreign commercial service representative said to me, “You know, Senator, we’re losing billions of dollars of business over here because we don’t have enough people and we don’t have enough place engaged in building the relationships and doing what’s necessary to get that commerce.

And in the Far East, as we all know, relationships are very, very important. They’re important in business and they’re very important in the conduct of foreign affairs. We don’t take enough time. Secretaries of State flying over or the assistant secretaries for a brief visit doesn’t do the job, folks. We have to be much more deeply engaged, building those relationships, have some kind of consistency and longevity even in the building of those relationships and we’ll be much stronger as a country.

[Island Blue]

2. When I click on your link

it's an official looking CFR page, but it says that the page not found.

[ProSense]

3. The link here still works.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=273&topic_id=57421&mesg_id=58012

[Mass]

4. Correct link

http://www.cfr.org/publication/9390/

[Island Blue]

5. Thanks! n/t

[jenndar]

6. Oh, terrific! Thanks! n/t

[whometense]

7. Audio's up now too.

http://www.cfr.org/content/publications/video//2005/12-8-05_Kerry.mp3

[ginnyinWI]

8. I dredged up this old thread--just wanted to comment

I finally got time to listen to the audio from the CFR speech. My comment: he takes my breath away with the depth and scope of his knowledge of foreign relations! He was brilliant, especially when you compare him with the chimp that preceded him, but even when you don't.

Anyone can read a speech (and he does it very well), but it was the Q&A that really floored me--the way he can easily talk about any aspect of today's complex international problems with a complete grasp of the big picture, and offer very good solutions. Anything they brought up--he was already there. In this setting he was able to speak to other intellectuals and not have to dumb it down--as he has doubtless had to do for interviews on certain TV programs--so we got to see just how intellectually capable he is!

At the risk of being repetitive--this man needs a promotion! President would be good, or at least Secretary of State!

[YvonneCa]

9. Definitely President...

...the sooner, the better! I agree with what you say about the Q & A. I felt the same way about the Q & A after the Georgetown University speech, too. His answers are clear, in depth, and ...for me...demonstrate that these are his deeply held, personal convictions about these issues. It's a shame the public did not get to know this man before November 2, 2004. It was impossible to do so with our 'sound-bite' system and lack of fairness on the part of the media (and I was one of the people who tried..many never took the time).:patriot:

P.S. Dredge up those old threads anytime! Some of us are out here a little belately, too.:hi:

[globalvillage]

11. I'll say. I listened again.

I loved the Q&A. It really showcases his knowledge of the issues. Imagine bush* in the same situation. Wait, don't. Too ugly.
More than anyting, though, it's the conviction in his voice when he answers questions. He believes what he believes, and that's what he says.
And that voice...
Damn, that's a sexy voice.

[ginnyinWI]

16. it is sexy--and very reassuring,

to know that he knows what he knows! He's a grown-up who could do so much if given the WH! And not for his own political gain, for the country.

Contrast to a recent * clip where he's whining about how the NYT jeopardized national security by telling the public how he ordered illegal wiretaps! I couldn't stand it--I yelled back, "You should have thought of that before you decided to break the law!!!" I've been yelling at * a lot lately. :eyes:

[globalvillage]

17. I think I have a voice fetish

Is that unusual? Is it even possible?
It's why Alan Rickman is my favorite actor.
Rickman and Kerry are at the top of my list. bush* is at the bottom with PeeWee Herman and the late Tiny Tim.
Not that I have an actual 'list' or anything.

This is probably more info than anyone here needs.
:blush: :rofl:

[ginnyinWI]

18. When I was a kid,

there was a bully on my block. He was two grades younger than me, and the same age as my brother, so they played together. But this boy was a real pain! Bush's tone of voice reminds me of that kid. It's whiney and defensive and pushy, as a defense, I think, against anybody realizing that he really isn't all he's cracked up to be. He gets by in life using bravado and lies. Same as that kid on my block, which is probably why I disliked him the first time I saw him on TV.


I think someone's voice says a lot about who they are.

[TayTay]

10. I too love the Q&A part of the speech

A lot of people never take Q&A, or if they do, they talk down to their audience and repeat sound bites really slowly like they are talking to two-year olds. (Honestly, have you noticed that Bush does this. He has his idiotic talking points and he thinks that if he just says them really slowly and makes his 'serious face' then they will all make sense. What a moran.) Oh, and Georgy-Porgy Pudding and Pie didn't even take questions when he gave his speech to the Council on Foreign Relations. (What a guy! Hey, it's not like he's accountable or anything, right? After all, one of them pointy-headed intulectuls might have tried to trip him up by asking something tricky, like if he could knew what a Sunni or a Shi'ite was and what the differences were between them. Can't have that happening to our illustrious Commander in Chief. After all, what if the little transmitter on his shoulder gave out and he actually had to answer the question. That would be a catastrophe.)

I wish this speech had been on video. I loved the Q&A at the Georgetown speech. You can see Sen. Kerry pause and think about his answers. He gets that look on his face that says that he is looking inside for an honest answer to a question, then he sort of 'comes to' and refocuses on the questioner. Imagine that, a guy who stops and thinks about his answers and accesses his own expeeriences and learning in the process. What a lovely thing to see.

I liked his 'hostile' question from the woman who questioned him on his view of the conflict in the Islamic world. She didn't agree with Sen. Kerry's assessment of this and he explained his view quite well. Sigh! I love a guy who can think on his feet. (No transmitter in sight. No mysterious black box showing through his well-tailored suit. Just him, thinking it through. Sigh!)

[YvonneCa]

12. Question...

You said:

"I wish this speech had been on video. I loved the Q&A at the Georgetown speech. You can see Sen. Kerry pause and think about his answers. He gets that look on his face that says that he is looking inside for an honest answer to a question, then he sort of 'comes to' and refocuses on the questioner. Imagine that, a guy who stops and thinks about his answers and accesses his own experiences and learning in the process. What a lovely thing to see."

I've watched this on video and I think you described it perfectly. That's the reaction which, to me, demonstrates his honesty, his commitment, his patriotism and dedication toward doing what's right for our country....but how do we get others to see THAT? I think the American people (most of them, anyway) would recognize IN AN INSTANT that this is the leadership ...now sorely lacking...that our country needs. How do we 'circumvent' the soundbite media???

[ProSense]

13. Is the video online?

:hi:

[TayTay]

14. The Oct 26th speech at Georgetown is at c-span

You can type in the search word 'Kerry' in the video search bucket and then sort by date.
http://www.c-span.org/

The Council on Foreign Relations speech is audio only at the CFR site: http://www.cfr.org/publication/9397/real_security_in_a_post911_world.html

Both are great speeches but address different aspects of the situation in Iraq. The Georgetown speech addresses, primarily, the situation the US military finds itself in in Iraq and how military policy should proceed there. This speech also contains one of the least read passages or least understood passages on DU:

Finally, and without delay, we must fundamentally alter the deployment of American troops. While Special Operations must continue to pursue specific intelligence leads, the vast majority of our own troops should be in rear guard, garrisoned status for security backup. We do not need to send young Americans on search and destroy missions that invite alienation and deepen the risks they face. Iraqis should police Iraqis. Iraqis should search Iraqi homes. Iraqis should stand up for Iraq.

Sen. Kerry was calling for US Troops in Iraq to be removed from the major flash-points of trouble in Iraq. As Kerry stated earlier in the speech when he quoted Gen. Casey, the top military Commander in Iraq, our military presence "feeds the notion of occupation." We need to draw our troops back from this danger. Kerry didn't say we need to do this in 12 -18 months. He said, "without delay." He would rather see American troops engaged in training Iraqis to defend their own nation and not be used as to further inflame sentiments that spur the chaos and bombings in Iraq.

Why that hasn't been talked about more on DU in general is beyond me. This went way beyond what anyone else was proposing. This was no 'take them out in six months,' instead this was a sane call to remove a source of insurgent recruitment and resentment and enhance both the mission of our troops in Iraq and guarantee more safety for our people who are serving there.

The CFR speech sketched in the background of what is going on in the whole of the Middle East and frames the Iraq struggle and the festering insurgency as a symptom of a greater struggle within the Islamic world. The speech itself presents the case that the US and international dependence on oil is itself propping up regimes in the Middle East that are corrupt and fundamentally repressive and anti-democratic. One of the best things we can do to enhance any nascent democratic movements in the ME is to begin to withdraw our support from the autocratic rulers over there and begin to demand that those regimes, such as Saudi Arabia begin to adhere to rules of basic human rights.

We are treating the ME as a place that is valuable because of what we can pump out of the ground over there. This has to change. The absolute valuation of the ME based on oil is retarding the growth of that region, preventing natural democratic movements among the people, consolidating power in the hands of a few despots and preventing the people of the ME from becoming full partners in the global community. This has to end. Until we take the steps necessary to end this, the ME will fester as an open wound. The present Admin has no plans to reconsider US policy toward the ME and believes that democracy can be imposed at the point of a gun, something that has never worked in world history. We have to end the dependency of oil in this region. It is shading America's own soul and bringing great harm to human beings in that part of the world.

Great speech. I am still evaluating it, but that is a preliminary. I am actually engaged in a minor research project right now that is comparing and contrasting the stated opinions of at least 5 Democratic Senators on Iraq. (But not Lieberman. Ah, what's the point.) It is very interesting that Sen. Clinton, who is viewed as some sort of leper at DU for her views is actually using these lines in her constituent letters home:

* I do not believe that we should allow this to be an open-ended commitment without limits or end. Nor do I believe that we can or should pull out of Iraq immediately. I believe we are at a critical point with the December 15th elections that should, if successful, allow us to start bringing home our troops in the coming year, while leaving behind a smaller contingent in safer areas with greater intelligence and quick strike capabilities. This will advance our interests, help fight terrorism and protect the interests of the Iraqi people.

* Based on the information that we have today, Congress never would have been asked to give the President authority to use force against Iraq.

* If these elections succeed, we should be able to start drawing down our troops, but we should also plan to continue to help secure the country and the region with a smaller footprint on an as-needed basis. I call on the President both for such a plan and for a full and honest accounting of the failures of intelligence – something we owe not only to those killed and wounded and their families, but to all Americans.
http://www.clinton.senate.gov/issues/nationalsecurity/index.cfm?topic=iraqletter
Senator Hillary Clinton, 11/29/05

Excuse me, but I have heard some of this stuff before. The media is wrong. A lot of Democrats are indeed singing off the same page on Iraq. This dis-unity on the part of the Dems is another media fraud and a sham. There is more that unites us than there is that divides us. Sen. Clinton doesn't go as far as Sen. Kerry in her call for change in the Iraq policy of this Admin, but damn, there is a lot that is in her letter that I have heard from Sen. Kerry in his speeches. A lot.

[ProSense]

15. Thanks TayTay!

I have the transcript of the Oct. 26 speech, but didn't see him deliver it. I'll have to take a look.

I did listen to the CFR speech, but I thought YvonneCa was referring to a video of that being available.