Obama Foreign Policy Forum in New Hampshire

Sarah Sewall, Faculty Director of the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy, cross-posted a message on barackobama.com, DailyKos, Blue Hampshire for Obama's foreign policy forum in New Hampshire Tuesday.

I've spent a career in foreign policy and national security, but it doesn't take an expert to know that after eight years of the Bush Administration's narrow-minded foreign policy and disastrous war in Iraq, our next president will urgently face enormous challenges in restoring America's global leadership.

We must renew America's image and show a new face to the world after eight years of alienating our allies and refusing to engage our enemies.

We must end a misguided war and restore a military stretched to the breaking point by a war that has already cost hundreds of billions of dollars and thousands of lives while distracting us from the real threat of Al-Qaeda and making us less safe.

We must reclaim our nation's values by rejecting torture and the violation of our civil liberties, and by trusting in our Constitution and proud legacy of individual freedoms.

We must proactively and patiently use all of our nation's strength - diplomatic, economic, and intelligence - to lead the world instead of relying solely upon military power because we ignored or rejected other options.

We must rebuild strong alliances and rally international action to combat the common enemies of the 21st - terrorism and nuclear weapons, poverty and disease, genocide and climate change.

We must genuinely redefine American leadership and challenge conventional Washington thinking, so that hope triumphs over fear in a world with real danger and unconventional challenges.

This is what America needs, and it will take bold leadership to meet this challenge.

I'm supporting Senator Barack Obama because he has the courage, the judgment, and the vision to achieve these goals, and to meet the unanticipated new challenges that are certain to arise. True leadership is based upon courage, not driven by fear. True leadership calls us to our better selves, to come together, and to summon our collective courage to create the world we wish for. Barack Obama has proven that he understands our changing world, thinks unconventionally, speaks forthrightly, and fights for his ideals. On the day he is inaugurated, he will fundamentally transform the way the world thinks about America, and what we expect of ourselves.

Barack Obama is the leader who will speak directly to nations and peoples disillusioned with America's policies. His life both abroad and here at home reflects his deep understanding of the universal human struggle for dignity and security. He recognizes that our security and future are increasingly linked to those of others. And Obama knows that America cannot just stand against terrorism, it must stand for freedom, hope and opportunity for all and for common security and international stability.

He offers a comprehensive foreign policy vision that combines national values and interests and reflects America at its best. He has developed concrete policies and initiatives to fulfill that vision - from doubling investment in international economic development and helping others build prosperity and peace; to calling Americans to service and launching a new era of American diplomacy; to creating a Shared Security Partnership to fight terrorism and training other nations to protect their citizens; to helping secure all loose nuclear materials and leading toward a world without nuclear weapons.

Obama offers smart, strong, and sustainable policy alternatives at this crucial juncture in our history. Not only did he have the courage and judgment to oppose the Iraq War from the start; his plan to end that war reflects understanding of the broader regional context and America's long-term interests. Not only is he standing up to the saber-rattling toward Iran; he's offering a credible alternative path to security through vigorous presidential diplomacy.

Obama's foreign policy represents not just a break from the Bush-Cheney years of failed foreign policy, but from the decades of conventional thinking that led us to this perilous moment in our history.

It is no coincidence that one of the most secretive Administrations in history has pursued disastrous and deceitful international policies. This stands in stark contrast to Barack Obama's commitment to openness and his honesty about where he stands on the tough issues. Consistent with this commitment, Obama will host a foreign policy forum with New Hampshire residents on Tuesday, November 27th.

The forum will bring together scholars and soldiers, national security experts and university professors, for a participatory discussion with New Hampshire voters about the foreign policy challenges we face and the kind of leadership and action it will take to tackle them.

There, Senator Obama and I will be joined by leading local and national Obama advisors and foreign policy experts, all of whom share my belief that it's time for a fundamental change in our foreign policy - time for a 21st century vision that replaces empty threats with smart, tough diplomacy, and regains our moral leadership by staying true to the values and ideals on which America was built. Panels will feature:

• Richard Danzig - Former Secretary of the Navy under President Clinton
• Tony Lake - National Security Advisor to President Clinton
• Adm. John Hutson (USN Ret.) - Bow, NH resident; Dean of Franklin Pierce Law Center; former U.S. Navy Judge Advocate General and nationally-known expert on detention and interrogation policy
• Samantha Power - Pulitzer Prize-winning author and renowned professor of human rights and foreign policy
• Susan Rice - Former Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs
• Gen. Jim Smith (USAF Ret.) - Salem, NH resident; retired U.S. Air Force Brigadier General
• Ryan Gray (USMC Ret.) - Goffstown, NH resident; served two tours in Iraq with the Marine Corps

I hope you can join us online for this important discussion about our nation's security challenges and how Barack Obama's strength and vision can help create a safer and more hopeful world.

Please join us tomorrow at 11:00 am for a live broadcast at nh.barackobama.com/fpforum