BIDEN, RICHARDSON TALK FOREIGN POLICY
From NBC/NJ’s Mike Memoli [in Manchester, N.H.] and NBC’s Lauren Appelbaum [in Washington, D.C.]
Biden and Richardson leaned on their experience during separate foreign policy speeches this morning, with each calling for a new approach to Pakistan. Biden later accused Richardson of changing positions on international issues in order to curry favor with the Democratic electorate.
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Speaking at the Impact ’08 summit at St. Anselm’s College this morning, Biden in particular sought to highlight what he said were his prescient comments on Pakistan before the current crisis developed. “People don’t get it. All these dots are connected folks,” Biden said in what was billed as a major speech. “There is no way to discretely deal with any nation in that region without understanding the repercussions, good and bad, for every other nation in the region. Neither the Democratic nor Republican candidates seem to understand that.”
Biden accused Pervez Musharraf of imposing a coup against his own government, and warned that without swift resolution, the world may see a repeat of the 1979 Iranian Revolution. “That moderate majority must have a voice in the system and an outlet with elections,” Biden said. “If not, moderates may find that they have no choice but to take common cause with extremists, just as the Shah’s opponents did in Iran three decades ago.”
Biden also criticized the Bush administration for waiting days to contact the principals in the region. By comparison, he noted that he spoke with Benazir Bhutto the day the state of the emergency was declared, and was in contact with Musharraf days later. “President Bush’s first reaction was to call on President Musharraf to reverse course. Given the stakes, I thought it might be more important to actually call him — than rather call on him.”
Biden called for dealing “proactively” with the current situation, but also for a long-term plan to strengthen Pakistan’s moderate majority, and to create conditions in the region that ensure a real democracy thrives in the region.
Richardson, who spoke first this morning, also drew comparisons between Pakistan today and Iran in 1979, saying that the United States cannot support what is essentially a military dictatorship. “We made the mistake years ago of backing a dictatorship in Iran and we are paying for it today,” Richardson said. “At this very juncture, unless we shift our policy in Pakistan, in two of the more crucial parts of the world, unless we advocate democracy and human rights and a dramatic change in Pakistan, we are in danger of making the same mistake.”
READ MORE: http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/11/08/456068.aspx
