25 August 2008
New U.S. President Unlikely to Alter U.S. Policy Toward Europe
Russia, nuclear weapons are regional focuses for candidates Obama, McCain
Washington -- Although Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain differ significantly on such national security issues as Iraq, the two presidential candidates’ positions on Europe fall within the broad consensus that historically has marked U.S. policy in the region. Their differences lie in nuance and points of emphasis.
As a result of the recent fighting in Georgia that broke out August 7, the U.S. relationship with Russia again has assumed center stage in American foreign policy. That shift has been reflected in the candidates’ statements both about the conflict and about the proposed response from the United States and its NATO allies.
“I condemn Russia’s aggressive actions and reiterate my call for an immediate ceasefire,” Obama said August 9, two days after fighting broke out. “Diplomats at the highest levels from the United States, the European Union and the United Nations must become directly involved in mediating this military conflict and beginning a process to resolve the political disputes over the territories of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.”
Two days later, Obama said bilateral and multilateral arrangements with Russia, including its interest in joining the World Trade Organization (WTO), should be reviewed.
“We want Russia to play its rightful role as a great nation,” he said, “but with that role comes the responsibility to act as a force for progress in this new century, not regression to the conflicts of the past.”
McCain, who has visited Georgia several times, has been even more forceful in his condemnation of Russian actions.
“The implications of Russian actions go beyond their threat to the territorial integrity and independence of a democratic Georgia,” McCain said August 11. “Russia is using violence against Georgia, in part, to intimidate other neighbors such as Ukraine for choosing to associate with the West and adhering to Western political and economic values.”
McCain said Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin “must understand the severe, long-term negative consequences that their government’s actions will have for Russia’s relationship with the U.S. and Europe.” On August 13, he said the United States and its NATO partners should discuss “whether it makes sense” for Russia to continue its participation in the G8 summit of leading industrial nations, as well as review Russian aspirations for WTO membership.
Both McCain and Obama have called for a Membership Action Plan for Georgia to join NATO; McCain also has supported a NATO membership track for Ukraine.
MISSILE DEFENSE
The two candidates differ in their assessment of what constitutes an appropriate level of U.S. planning for theater missile defense in Europe, an issue that became more timely following the August 20 signing of an agreement between the United States and Poland to permit a U.S. base on Polish soil with 10 missile interceptors. The United States also signed on July 8 an agreement with the Czech Republic that, pending approval by the Czech parliament, will permit the missile defense system’s radar to be based in that country.
McCain strongly supports the development and deployment of such missile defenses as a way to protect against missile launches from nations such as Iran. Obama has said the United States should “explore the possibility” of deploying missile defense systems in Europe but actually deploy them only if they are “based on sound technology that works.”
Both candidates recognize that the conflict in Georgia, NATO expansion and missile defense are issues on which the United States and Russia sharply differ, but they also see areas of continued cooperation and common interest between the two nations, especially in the control and eventual elimination of nuclear weapons.
ARMS CONTROL
Obama and McCain share the goal of a world without nuclear weapons, but both believe in the need for the United States to maintain a strong deterrent while such weapons exist.
To help reach that goal of a nuclear-free world, Obama has said he will stop the development of new nuclear weapons, seek a major reduction in the U.S. and Russian stockpiles of nuclear arms and material, and work with Russia to take both nations’ ballistic missile forces off hair-trigger alert.
McCain has said he is prepared to enter into a new arms control agreement with Russia to reduce nuclear weapons and explore with Russia ways to reduce or eliminate the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons in Europe. McCain also called for the United States and Russia to redouble their common efforts to reduce the risk that weapons of mass destruction will fall into the hands of terrorists or unfriendly governments.
