As Prepared for Delivery:

Remarks of Senator Barack Obama
Foreign Policy Forum
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Portsmouth, NH

Before we open this up to discussion, I’d like to talk about theimportance of openness in foreign policy, and how that relates to some of thechallenges that we face. I know you have been talking about some of theseissues with my advisors today.

We all understand that this is a pivotal moment in our history. Oursecurity is threatened. Our standing in the world has been badly damaged. Andthe American people want to know how we are going to move forward.

These challenges come from the unconventional threats of the 21^stcentury. Terrorists are determined to strike our homeland. Our planet isimperiled by climate change. Poverty and genocide and disease confront ourcommon humanity and sow instability across borders. The spread of nuclearweapons threatens Americaand the common security of the entire world.

But these challenges have also been made worse by George Bush’spolicies. Our ability to lead has been set back by our bluster, and refusal totalk to nations that we don’t like. The Administration’s use oftorture and indefinite detentions has set back our moral leadership. Nationalsecurity has been used as a political wedge issue to divide us, not as a causeto unite us behind a common purpose. Most of all, our security and standinghave suffered because of a misguided war in Iraq that should’ve neverbeen authorized and should’ve never been waged.

That is what the next President faces. That is what America faces. And so it iscritically important that those of us who want to lead this nation be open, andcandid, and clear with the American people about how we will move forward.We’ve got big challenges. We’ve got to think big, and we’vegot to tell the American people what we think.

We’ve seen what happens when the door is shut on the Americanpeople. We know what it’s like to have old Washington hands like DickCheney and Don Rumsfeld say, “trust us, we know what we’redoing” on foreign policy. But whether it was going to war with Iraq, or whether it’s saber rattling at Irantoday, their experience has not led to good judgment. Now the American peoplewill have to look at all of the candidates for President and ask who isoffering clear answers and clear direction about how to turn the page. Becausewhen you elect our next President, you will choose someone who will make thosejudgments on Iraq, and Iran and how to restore America’s standing –and you have to be able to trust that he or she has the judgment to lead.

Openness is an important part of the leadership we offer. Because policiesmade in the shadows don’t stand up well to sunlight. When you have toshift your rationale for war in Iraq,chances are that war is not based on sound judgment. When you outline yourlegal framework for the war on terror in secret memos, chances aresomething’s going on at Guantanamothat the American people wouldn’t like. When you’ve got secret taskforces and blindly loyal aides, then your policies aren’t beingstrengthened by the values and judgment of the American people.

It’s time to stop shutting the door. Because the American peopleare not the problem in this country – they are the answer. It’ssomething I learn every day. When you have a dialogue with voters, and presentyour ideas, and answer tough questions, your policies are strengthened. Andwhen it comes to foreign policy, people are tired of ideology or stock Washington answers– they want pragmatism, details, and leadership they can believe in.

We know what we’re going to get from the Republicannominee– more Bush-Cheney foreign policy. More support for open-ended warin Iraq.More saber-rattling toward Iran.More refusing to talk to countries we don’t like. More exceptions fortorture. There was even a debate earlier this year when the Republicancandidates debated how much to expand Guantanamo.

When I’m the Democratic nominee, I will offer a clear choice. Myopponent won’t be able to say that I ever supported the war in Iraq, or that I support using our troops in Iraq to counter Iran, or that I support theBush-Cheney diplomacy of not talking to leaders that we don’t like. Andhe will not be able to say that I wavered on something as fundamental aswhether or not it is ok for Americato torture - because it is never ok.

This isn’t just about drawing contrasts – it’s aboutdoing what’s right. George Bush is going to be gone in less than 14months. The next President will have a window of opportunity to restore oursecurity and standing, and to show the world a new face of America. To seize that moment, wehave to build a mandate with the American people for change. And we’renot going to be able to build that mandate unless we’re clear about wherewe want to lead this country.

On Iraq, I havenever supported this war, and I have been clear about how I will end it –I will immediately begin to remove our troops, I will remove 1 to 2 combatbrigades each month, and I will have all of our combat troops out of Iraqin 16 months. The only troops that I will keep in Iraqor the region will protect our embassy and diplomats, and carry out targetedstrikes on al Qaeda in Iraq.During this drawdown, we will launch aggressive diplomacy – in Iraq and the region – to end Iraq’s civil war, as well as a majorhumanitarian initiative to help Iraq’srefugees.

On Iran, I haven’t just opposedthe rush to war – I have put forward a new approach. We have seriousproblems with the Iranian regime. We don’t like their nuclear program,support for terrorism, or their threats toward Israel. But it’s time to useaggressive American diplomacy to try to change that. So as President I willpresent Iranwith a clear choice – stop their disturbing behavior and there will bepolitical and economic incentives; continue doing what they’re doing, andwe will ratchet up the pressure. And we’ll be in a much stronger positionto get the kind of international support that we need to pressure Iranif we go the extra mile diplomatically.

This is why we need a President who is willing to talk to all nations– friend and foe. Not talking doesn’t make us look tough, it makesus look arrogant, and makes it harder to get international support when we doneed to deal with a challenge like Iran. The problems that we face aretoo urgent. We can’t wait several more years to make progress. We need aPresident who is willing to lead. We have to stop giving countries the excusethat Americawill not come to the table.

And we have to restore our moral leadership. When I am President, theworld will know that I have never supported exceptions for torture –Ihave rejected torture, without equivocation. I will close down Guantanamo. I will restorehabeas corpus. And I will recognize that the defense of American values mustbegin at home, in America.

We’re not going to do that unless we bring this country together.I’m not interested in fighting a partisan war against Republicans –as President, I will unite Americato fight our common enemies. That’s what I’ve done in the Senate,when I worked across the aisle with Dick Lugar on the Foreign RelationsCommittee to secure loose nuclear materials, to keep the world’s mostdangerous weapons away from terrorists. And when we come together as Americans,there is no danger that we cannot face, no challenge that we cannot meet, noheight that we cannot reach.

I am running for President because I believe that this moment ofextraordinary peril is also a moment of extraordinary promise. We can take onthe threats of the 21^st century – nuclear weapons andterrorism; climate change and poverty; genocide and disease. We can once moresend a message to those yearning faces beyond our shores that says, "Youmatter to us. Your future is our future. And our moment is now."

I believe that America’smoment is now. I believe that we can come together. I believe that we can domore than settle for the old ways of doing things – that we can reach forsomething more. But only if we do more than tell people who or what we’reagainst – we have to tell people what we stand for. That’s whatI’m doing in this campaign. And that’s what I’ll do as President.

As part of that effort, we wanted to give folks in New HampshireAs Prepared for Delivery:

Remarks of Senator Barack Obama
Foreign Policy Forum
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Portsmouth, NH

Before we open this up to discussion, I’d like to talk about the importance of openness in foreign policy, and how that relates to some of the challenges that we face. I know you have been talking about some of these issues with my advisors today.

We all understand that this is a pivotal moment in our history. Our security is threatened. Our standing in the world has been badly damaged. And the American people want to know how we are going to move forward.

These challenges come from the unconventional threats of the 21^stcentury. Terrorists are determined to strike our homeland. Our planet is imperiled by climate change. Poverty and genocide and disease confront our common humanity and sow instability across borders. The spread of nuclear weapons threatens America and the common security of the entire world.

But these challenges have also been made worse by George Bush’s policies. Our ability to lead has been set back by our bluster, and refusal to talk to nations that we don’t like. The Administration’s use of torture and indefinite detentions has set back our moral leadership. National security has been used as a political wedge issue to divide us, not as a cause to unite us behind a common purpose. Most of all, our security and standing have suffered because of a misguided war in Iraq that should’ve never been authorized and should’ve never been waged.

That is what the next President faces. That is what America faces. And so it is critically important that those of us who want to lead this nation be open, and candid, and clear with the American people about how we will move forward. We’ve got big challenges. We’ve got to think big, and we’ve got to tell the American people what we think.

We’ve seen what happens when the door is shut on the American people. We know what it’s like to have old Washington hands like Dick Cheney and Don Rumsfeld say, “trust us, we know what we’re doing” on foreign policy. But whether it was going to war with Iraq, or whether it’s saber rattling at Iran today, their experience has not led to good judgment. Now the American people will have to look at all of the candidates for President and ask who is offering clear answers and clear direction about how to turn the page. Because when you elect our next President, you will choose someone who will make those judgments on Iraq, and Iran and how to restore America’s standing –and you have to be able to trust that he or she has the judgment to lead.

Openness is an important part of the leadership we offer. Because policies made in the shadows don’t stand up well to sunlight. When you have to shift your rationale for war in Iraq, chances are that war is not based on sound judgment. When you outline your legal framework for the war on terror in secret memos, chances are something’s going on at Guantanamo that the American people wouldn’t like. When you’ve got secret taskforces and blindly loyal aides, then your policies aren’t being strengthened by the values and judgment of the American people.

It’s time to stop shutting the door. Because the American people are not the problem in this country – they are the answer. It’s something I learn every day. When you have a dialogue with voters, and present your ideas, and answer tough questions, your policies are strengthened. And when it comes to foreign policy, people are tired of ideology or stock Washington answers– they want pragmatism, details, and leadership they can believe in.

We know what we’re going to get from the Republican nominee– more Bush-Cheney foreign policy. More support for open-ended war in Iraq. More saber-rattling toward Iran. More refusing to talk to countries we don’t like. More exceptions for torture. There was even a debate earlier this year when the Republican candidates debated how much to expand Guantanamo.

When I’m the Democratic nominee, I will offer a clear choice. My opponent won’t be able to say that I ever supported the war in Iraq, or that I support using our troops in Iraq to counter Iran, or that I support the Bush-Cheney diplomacy of not talking to leaders that we don’t like. And he will not be able to say that I wavered on something as fundamental as whether or not it is ok for America to torture - because it is never ok.

This isn’t just about drawing contrasts – it’s about doing what’s right. George Bush is going to be gone in less than 14months. The next President will have a window of opportunity to restore our security and standing, and to show the world a new face of America. To seize that moment, we have to build a mandate with the American people for change. And we’re not going to be able to build that mandate unless we’re clear about where we want to lead this country.

On Iraq, I have never supported this war, and I have been clear about how I will end it –I will immediately begin to remove our troops, I will remove 1 to 2 combat brigades each month, and I will have all of our combat troops out of Iraq in 16 months. The only troops that I will keep in Iraq or the region will protect our embassy and diplomats, and carry out targeted strikes on al Qaeda in Iraq. During this drawdown, we will launch aggressive diplomacy – in Iraq and the region – to end Iraq’s civil war, as well as a major humanitarian initiative to help Iraq’s refugees.

On Iran, I haven’t just opposed the rush to war – I have put forward a new approach. We have serious problems with the Iranian regime. We don’t like their nuclear program, support for terrorism, or their threats toward Israel. But it’s time to use aggressive American diplomacy to try to change that. So as President I will present Iran with a clear choice – stop their disturbing behavior and there will be political and economic incentives; continue doing what they’re doing, and we will ratchet up the pressure. And we’ll be in a much stronger position to get the kind of international support that we need to pressure Iran if we go the extra mile diplomatically.

This is why we need a President who is willing to talk to all nations– friend and foe. Not talking doesn’t make us look tough, it makes us look arrogant, and makes it harder to get international support when we do need to deal with a challenge like Iran. The problems that we face are too urgent. We can’t wait several more years to make progress. We need a President who is willing to lead. We have to stop giving countries the excuse that America will not come to the table.

And we have to restore our moral leadership. When I am President, the world will know that I have never supported exceptions for torture –I have rejected torture, without equivocation. I will close down Guantanamo. I will restore habeas corpus. And I will recognize that the defense of American values must begin at home, in America.

We’re not going to do that unless we bring this country together. I’m not interested in fighting a partisan war against Republicans –as President, I will unite America to fight our common enemies. That’s what I’ve done in the Senate, when I worked across the aisle with Dick Lugar on the Foreign Relations Committee to secure loose nuclear materials, to keep the world’s most dangerous weapons away from terrorists. And when we come together as Americans, there is no danger that we cannot face, no challenge that we cannot meet, no height that we cannot reach.

I am running for President because I believe that this moment of extraordinary peril is also a moment of extraordinary promise. We can take on the threats of the 21^st century – nuclear weapons and terrorism; climate change and poverty; genocide and disease. We can once more send a message to those yearning faces beyond our shores that says, "You matter to us. Your future is our future. And our moment is now."

I believe that America’ s moment is now. I believe that we can come together. I believe that we can do more than settle for the old ways of doing things – that we can reach for something more. But only if we do more than tell people who or what we’re against – we have to tell people what we stand for. That’s what I’m doing in this campaign. And that’s what I’ll do as President.

As part of that effort, we wanted to give folks in New Hampshire the opportunity to hear from some of the people who I’ve reached out to for advice on foreign policy and national security. We’ve got a great group of experts from diverse backgrounds giving their counsel to the campaign. It has been a pleasure working with Susan Rice, former Assistant Secretary of State, Tony Lake, former National Security Adviser, Richard Danzig, former Navy Secretary, Admiral Hutson, former Chief JAG of the Navy, and Samantha Power, a Pulitzer Prizewinner. Thank you for being here today.

Now, I want to hear from you, so let’s open this up to discussion.