John Edwards' Policies to Create Peace

IndyOp

(1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore

Fri Dec-28-07 08:28 PM
Original message

John Edwards' Policies to Create Peace

I would like to read lots more positive posts here at DU - posts that highlight the best of each candidate and focus on policy rather than polls.

I am supporting John Edwards and I want to highlight two small parts of his platform that I like. If anyone posts below that what I have here isn't enough to address all of the problems we are facing, I will know that you did not click this link that takes you to John's website that provides much, much more information that I include here.

Peace is not the absence of war. Creating peace requires action!

Restoring America's Moral Leadership By Fighting Worldwide Poverty

John Edwards believes that the United States must be a global leader in the fight against poverty. Solving global poverty is a moral imperative, but it is also a security issue. Global poverty increases the risk to America by providing a safe harbor for instability, extremism, and terrorism. Edwards' strategy against global poverty will require every weapon in our national security arsenal. For the last six years, too many burdens have been placed on the Department of Defense—not because it has asked for this mission or is the best suited to handle these challenges, but because it has been the most capable and well-funded national security institution.

As president, John Edwards will fundamentally transform America's approach to the world. As part of his $5 billion initiative, he will bring high-level attention to help people in three priority areas: primary education, preventive health, and greater economic and political opportunity.

Enrolling Every Child in School: Education is critical to bringing countries out of poverty, but more than 100 million young children are not in school. In addition to an education, school offers a safe environment and a place for immunizations, fresh water, and an adequate diet. The benefits of education are particularly strong for girls: with education, they marry later, have fewer and healthier children, and are better paid in the workplace. Edwards will endorse the goal of universal basic education by 2015 and commit $3 billion a year to this cause—enough to enroll 23 million children—and encourage our allies to provide the remaining $7 billion needed.

Investing in Preventative Medicine: Fight the Three "Killer Diseases" - HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria. Invest in Clean Water: The World Health Organization has found that every $1 invested in clean water yields an economic return of $8. Edwards will double the U.S. investment in clean water. Invest in Immunizations and Preventative Medicine: Edwards will invest in preventative health care in poor countries, beginning with increased vaccinations and the provision of sterile equipment and basic medications. Rescind the Global Gag Rule that prevents foreign non-profits that receive U.S. family planning aid from providing abortion counseling or referral in most cases.

Creating Economic and Political Opportunity: Invest in Microenterprise: Microfinance programs and microinsurance. Strengthen Democracies: Edwards will expand support for the National Endowment for Democracy to strengthen political parties, train political candidates, educate voters, and monitor elections. The resources will help countries with a history of political violence or extremist or terrorist activity. Promote Labor and Property Rights: Edwards will property law reform in the Millennium Challenge Account, encouraging nations to give their citizens the right to invest in property.

Creating a Cabinet-Level Post on Global Poverty: Despite its importance to our national security, the United States still lacks a comprehensive strategy to fight global poverty. Our foreign aid programs are fractured and uncoordinated, delivered by over 50 separate government offices. As a result, bureaucrats fight over overlapping jurisdictions while resources are not tied to any government-wide priorities.

Uganda: A Little Goes a Long Way <- A great Frontline video about the wonderful impact of microfinance featuring Kiva.org.

Grace Ayaa grew up in the rebel held north of Uganda. After fleeing the war in the late 1980s, she worked for the Red Cross and then for the micro-finance group, Life in Africa, helping others to start small businesses. She received a loan through Kiva earlier this year to improve her own peanut butter business. In Uganda: A Little Goes a Long Way she talks about losing her husband in the war and her own journey out of poverty, and providing for her family as well as children left orphaned by the conflict.

Reengaging with the World - Stabilization and Humanitarian Missions

The tsunami that hit Southeast Asia in 2004, the troubled status of the government in Afghanistan, and the need for a functioning infrastructure in Iraq all have something in common: they present a new set of challenges for which the United States will need to prepare. In the coming years, we will most likely see an increasing need to stabilize weak and failing states and provide humanitarian assistance to the victims of disasters across the world.

These missions are demanding, dangerous, and expensive. They require a wide range of resources and sources of knowledge, from experts in water purification to medical technicians, judges to corrections officers, bankers to stock-market analysts. In most cases, the help of thousands of such specialists is required. Yet for years, the U.S. government has not been properly prepared for these kinds of missions. As a result, when these situations arise, the government turns repeatedly to the only existing institution with the required logistical capabilities and a sufficiently broad range of skills: the military. But the military lacks many of the resources that are required to conduct these missions successfully. To resolve these problems, Edwards will establish a Marshall Corps during his first year in office, named for our greatest secretary of state, General George Marshall. The Marshall Corps, patterned after the military reserves, will consist of at least 10,000 civilian experts who could be deployed abroad to serve in reconstruction, stabilization, and humanitarian missions. They will be on the frontline in the United States' reengagement with the world.

To me, having the Marshall Corps sounds like having our own United Nations peacekeepers. :thumbsup:

A Plan For Action In Darfur And Uganda

Today, two neighboring nations in Africa, Sudan and Uganda, face a pivotal moment right now. The two countries contain the most critical humanitarian crises in the world. John Edwards has outlined steps the United States can take with its NATO allies to help end the genocide in Darfur and to support the peace process in Uganda. With these steps, we can turn the corner in both countries, put the region back on the road to peace and help restore America's moral leadership in the world.

Conflict in Darfur, which is in Western Sudan, broke out in 2003 when small farmers took up arms to fight for a greater share of resources. The conflict turned into genocide when the Sudanese government backed the Janjaweed militia, which has brutally raped, tortured and killed 400,000 people and driven two and a half million people from their homes. In addition, the violence and chaos is spreading to neighboring Chad and the Central African Republic.

African Union peacekeeping troops stationed in Darfur have been valiant in a difficult cause. But these troops, which number just 7,000, have been unable to protect civilians or enforce a 2004 ceasefire. In the meantime, security has deteriorated dramatically.

Last November, President Bashir of Sudan finally agreed to allow U.N. peacekeeping troops in the country, which would be deployed in two phases. The first phase was about 200 advisors, who are now in the country. The second was 3,000 peacekeeping forces, who would work with the African Union troops. The 3,000 U.N. troops are the critical link in the chain, and the UN is not moving quickly enough to provide them.

In my next pro-Edwards policy-focused post I will focus on A New Energy Economy. The League of Conservation Voters, which has not yet endorsed a candidate for president, described Edwards' plan as the "most comprehensive global warming plan of any presidential candidate to date." "Senator Edwards' plan demonstrates that he understands the magnitude of the challenge before us and the need for bold leadership to meet it," LCV President Gene Karpinski said.