Three foreign policy officials who worked under former President Bill Clinton outlined Sen. Barack Obama's foreign policy plans in Iraq and other parts of the world yesterday in Walter Hall.
Air Force Gen. Scott Gration, former Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Susan Rice and former Secretary of the Navy Richard Danzig are all foreign policy advisers to Obama.
Both Danzig and Rice said that though they have respect for the Clintons, they think Obama is the best candidate
for president.
He's a leader who has a very unusual and deep ability to bring people together
Danzig said.
Obama plans to remove troops from Iraq as soon as possible, at a rate of one or two brigades at a time, Gration said.
If we were to pull out faster than that it would leave people exposed he said.
Gration said that would force the Iraqi government to become better organized and would free up troops to defend American interests.-
Rice said, adding that the U.S. embassy in Iraq needs to be rethought.
Rice also gave a general overview of some of Obama's other foreign policy plans. He wants to close the Guantanamo Bay detention camp and end U.S. torture, she said. Obama wants to use diplomacy to obtain lasting peace between Palestine and Israel, Rice said. Also, he wants to negotiate reductions in nuclear arsenals.
Danzig said that, though he thinks Obama would oppose nuclear proliferation in countries like Iran, he would also push for the United States and Russia to get rid of some of their nuclear weapons.
Rice said Obama also wants to reduce carbon emissions by 80 percent by 2050, she said.
He's committed to leaving the world a better place than he found it
Rice said.
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Susan Rice, U.S. assistant secretary of state for African Affairs during the Clinton administration, speaks on behalf of Senator Barack Obama at the Foreign Policy Round Table Discussion yesterday morning.
