Issue Position: Foreign Policy

Issue Position

Issue Position: Foreign Policy

Our nation's foreign policies should advance the security and prosperity of all Americans, while positioning us to promote American values such as freedom, democracy, and the rule of law around the world. Our efforts must extend beyond diplomatic and military initiatives to include humanitarian and development assistance. Helping other nations in the global fight against HIV/AIDS, for example, is a moral choice that also strengthens our nation's standing abroad as a global leader.

Genocide in Darfur

As an original co-sponsor of the Darfur Peace and Accountability Act, I have been coming to the Senate floor nearly every week to ensure that we remember what is happening in Sudan. It has been years since the Bush Administration called the situation what it really is: a genocide. Under the 1948 U.N. Convention on Genocide, our nation is committed to imposing effective penalties on the killers and working to stop the violence. Yet as an estimated 200,000 people have been killed and over 2 million men, women and children have been displaced, the international community has not done enough to pressure the Government of Sudan to stop the violence. The crisis in Sudan is simply too great for us to ignore. I will continue to speak out on the Senate floor and in other forums to press our nation and our allies to take further action.

I also have introduced the Sudan Disclosure and Enforcement Act. Modeled after the fight to defeat apartheid in South Africa, this Act will help provide the Administration and all Americans with the information needed to use our investment portfolios as a nonviolent tool for peace in Darfur. It will establish real financial consequences for those companies that bear some complicity in the bloodshed by supporting the murderous Sudanese regime. Many American individuals and institutions want their investment choices to reflect their values. This is one small way we can help them add their voices to the call for peace and security in Darfur.

Global Health and Poverty

I have long been committed to bipartisan initiatives to help the least fortunate around the world. Since my first trip to Africa in January 2000, I have spearheaded the fight in the Senate to increase our national effort to combat HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria in the world's poorest countries, resulting in billions of dollars in additional funding in recent years. These efforts are saving millions of lives around the world and also help protect our own nation's public health.

I have supported funding for microenterprise programs, many of which particularly help women in poor nations, and I have introduced initiatives to provide women the resources and opportunities to thrive. To ensure access to clean water, I have supported continued funding for the Paul Simon Water for the Poor Act. As a founder of the Congressional Global AIDS Emergency Task Force, I have sought to help developing nations strengthen the capabilities of their own health systems. I am dedicated to the improvement of global health and the reduction of poverty, and will work to increase action and awareness in these areas in the years to come.

Nuclear Proliferation

The possibility that nations such as Iran and North Korea intend to develop, acquire, or use nuclear weapons presents the United States with a very real national security concern. Europe and the broader international community share that concern, and convincing Iran and North Korea's leaders to abide by the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty has proved problematic.

I have been a leader in trying to halt the nuclear weapons program in Iran. I joined Senator Smith of Oregon in sponsoring the Iran Counter-Proliferation Act of 2007. The act contains provisions, including strong economic sanctions, aimed at preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapons capability. We must continue to use the political and economic tools at our disposal to address these threats.

Israel and the Peace Process

My support for Israel is strong, as is my commitment to peace in the Middle East. Israel remains an important U.S. ally in the Middle East and the only stable multi-party democracy in the region. The strong and steady friendship between our two countries is built on a solid foundation of shared values, mutual support, and trust, and is in the fundamental interest of both nations.

My actions in support of Israel and peace in the region include cosponsoring the Iran Counter-Proliferation Act of 2007 and a resolution reaffirming Israel's right of self-defense and its right to take appropriate action to deter aggression by terrorist groups and their state sponsors. At the same time, I have remained sympathetic to the need to address the concerns of the Palestinian people. I have also cosponsored a resolution in support of the Israel-Palestinian peace process.

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