Assessing the Republican Party Platform by Stephen Zunes
While the foreign policy segments of the Democratic Party platform as outlined in my most recent article is disappointing in many respects, the Republican Party platform is downright scary.
Among the more frightening aspects of the platform is its unconstitutional assertion that the president has sole prerogative to make decisions on matters of war, rejecting any role for Congressional "interference" in foreign policy matters. This appears to be a pre-emptive assertion by the Republican Party that, in the event of a John McCain win in November, they would reject any attempt by the likely Democratic-controlled Congress to impose any checks and balances to prevent a possible war on Iran or other dangerous executive initiatives.
The Republican platform calls for the development and deployment of both national and theater missile-defense systems. These incredibly expensive weapons systems, which are unlikely to work in any case, violate arms-control agreements signed and ratified under the Nixon administration.
Also disturbing is the platform's classification of immigration as a national security issue, which has serious ramifications in terms of the nature of legislation and enforcement. It also claims that warrantless wiretapping of American citizens is "vital" to America's national security.
And, despite the Clinton administration's increases in the already bloated military budget after the end of the Cold War, the Republican platform insists that "national defense was neglected and under-funded by the Clinton Administration." The platform then calls for a significant increase in the size of the American armed forces, even though the United States - at barely 4% of the world's population - already accounts for over one-half of the world's military spending.
The Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan
The Republican platform calls for nothing less than an outright "military victory" in Iraq, something which has alluded the United States for over five years despite its overwhelming military might. As the Bush administration has claimed every year since the 2003 U.S. invasion, "A stable, unified, and democratic Iraqi nation is within reach." Yet, despite the relative lull in violence in recent months, such a scenario appears to be as far from reality as ever. The platform rejects any timetables for a U.S. withdrawal. Despite the ruling Iraqi coalition's domination by sectarian fundamentalist Shia parties and their militias, the platform argues that continuing to sacrifice American lives and dollars to keep that regime in power would somehow "give us a strategic ally in the struggle against extremism."
Using language remarkable similar to that of the Nixon administration in its defense of policies that needlessly and tragically prolonged the war in Vietnam, the platform insists that "To those who have sacrificed so much, we owe the commitment that American forces will leave that country in victory and with honor."
The Republican platform claims that a military victory in Iraq in necessary in order to "deny al-Qaeda a safe haven" and "limit Iranian influence in the Middle East." But al-Qaeda had no safe haven in Iraq and Iran had virtually no influence in Iraq until the Republican administration invaded Iraq and overthrew its government, which had until then successfully suppressed both pro-Iranian elements as well radical Sunnis who could potentially align with al-Qaeda.
