UP Ibalon Bicol: Richard Lugar Praises Obama on Foreign Policy

Richard Lugar Praises Obama on Foreign Policy

10/16/2008 | Posted by andygimpaya | Edit Post

Republican Indiana Sen. Richard G. Lugar and a prominent member of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee said in his speech at the National Defense University that there are benefits to talking with enemies of the US, as against use of military force.

Generally, Lugar praised Barack Obama who John McCain called "naive" for saying that as US President he would talk with the likes of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Isolation does not resolve contentious issues, Lugar added in agreement with Obama's line. In campaign speeches in a presidential debate, Obama repeatedly says that, while he does not take military option off the table, not talking to an enemy regime as a form of punishment does not make sense. Lugar rebuked McCaine by saying that exclusive use of isolation or military force in dealing with enemies of America may not be desirable. "In some cases, refusing to talk can even be dangerous."

McCain recently took a flack when he turned cold shoulder on the prospect of meeting the Prime Minister of Spain. Spain's sin: it pulled out its troops from Iraq when the US-initiated invasion started to get messy and unpopular. Since that time, President Bush has snubbed Spain's leaders, a cue apparently not lost to Senator McCain.

Noting recent diplomatic success in dealing with North Korea, Lugar suggested further diplomatic engagement with Syria and Iran. He suggested though that McCain may be right when the Republican nominee warned that "there are times when diplomatic approaches to rogue regimes have little efficacy."

In July, one Obama campaign ad mentioned Lugar by name and Lugar says he is "pleased" to have worked with the Democratic nominee on nuclear proliferation issues.

We here in the Philippines remember then Congressman Richard Lugar as the head of a US conressional committee who attempted and failed to broker a deal betwen President Ferdinand Marcos and Cory Aquino as the Marcos regime started to crumble in the aftermath of Ninoy Aquino assassination. At that time, Marcos was a SOB but "he is our SOB." Incidentally, Obama promises not to have none of these SOBs.

Labels: Barack Obama, Cory Aquino, diplomacy, Ferdinand Marcos, foreign policy, Iran, John McCain, Lugar, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, McCain, North Korea, Obama, Republican, Richard G. Lugar, Syria

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Richard Lugar Praises Obama on Foreign Policy

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