February 11, 2009 5:26 PM
- Text
Kerry: U.S. A "Pariah" Nation Under Bush
(CBS/AP)
Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry slammed the foreign policy of the Bush administration on Saturday, saying it has caused the United States to become "a sort of international pariah."
The statement came as the 2004 Democratic presidential nominee responded to a question today at the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, where the tumult in Iraq and the Middle East took center stage.
Kerry was asked about whether the U.S. government had failed to adequately engage Iran's government before the election of hard-liner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2005.
Kerry said the Bush administration has failed in addressing a number of foreign policy issues.
"When we walk away from global warming, Kyoto, when we are irresponsibly slow in moving toward AIDS in Africa, when we don't advance and live up to our own rhetoric and standards, we set a terrible message of duplicity and hypocrisy," Kerry said.
"So we have a crisis of confidence in the Middle East — in the world, really. I've never seen our country as isolated, as much as a sort of international pariah for a number of reasons as it is today."
Kerry said the government needs to use diplomacy to improve national security.
"We need to do a better job of protecting our interests, because after all, that's what diplomacy is about," he said. "But you have to do it in a context of the reality, not your lens but the reality of those other cultures and histories."
Kerry criticized what he called the "unfortunate habit" of Americans to see the world "exclusively through an American lens."
He also criticized President Bush's plan to send an additional 21,000 U.S. troops to Baghdad to help secure Baghdad from rampaging sectarian violence.
"I don't care how many troops are put in — Iraq is not going to be pacified," Kerry said. "Now, we are partly responsible. The absence of legitimate significant diplomacy is a disgrace. Quick flights in by a secretary of state are not diplomacy."
"There should be a special envoy, maybe a joint bipartisan special envoy. Why not a President Clinton together with a Republican of high ability, and bring them together and really work the process?"
The statement came as the 2004 Democratic presidential nominee responded to a question today at the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, where the tumult in Iraq and the Middle East took center stage.
Kerry was asked about whether the U.S. government had failed to adequately engage Iran's government before the election of hard-liner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2005.
Kerry said the Bush administration has failed in addressing a number of foreign policy issues.
"When we walk away from global warming, Kyoto, when we are irresponsibly slow in moving toward AIDS in Africa, when we don't advance and live up to our own rhetoric and standards, we set a terrible message of duplicity and hypocrisy," Kerry said.
"So we have a crisis of confidence in the Middle East — in the world, really. I've never seen our country as isolated, as much as a sort of international pariah for a number of reasons as it is today."
Kerry said the government needs to use diplomacy to improve national security.
"We need to do a better job of protecting our interests, because after all, that's what diplomacy is about," he said. "But you have to do it in a context of the reality, not your lens but the reality of those other cultures and histories."
Kerry criticized what he called the "unfortunate habit" of Americans to see the world "exclusively through an American lens."
He also criticized President Bush's plan to send an additional 21,000 U.S. troops to Baghdad to help secure Baghdad from rampaging sectarian violence.
"I don't care how many troops are put in — Iraq is not going to be pacified," Kerry said. "Now, we are partly responsible. The absence of legitimate significant diplomacy is a disgrace. Quick flights in by a secretary of state are not diplomacy."
"There should be a special envoy, maybe a joint bipartisan special envoy. Why not a President Clinton together with a Republican of high ability, and bring them together and really work the process?"
Popular Now in Politics
- Santorum sweeps Missouri, Minnesota, Colorado
- Contraception issue heats up as Santorum gains
- Clint Eastwood gives America a pep talk
- After Tues. sweep, Santorum seeks to gain speed
- Obama campaign blurs the line with super PAC
- GOP contests under way in Minn., Mo. & Colo.
- Fallon vs. Obama in fitness challenge
- Romney: Komen shouldn't fund Planned Parenthood
- Romney, Gingrich blast Prop 8 ruling
- Callista Gingrich: The quiet wife
- Congressional approval hits another all-time low
- Obama campaign throws support to Obama super PAC
- What Does 'GOP' Stand For?
- Eastwood: No political spin to my Chrysler ad
- Rick Santorum finally gets his moment
- Obama leads Romney in Virginia poll
- White House under pressure over contraception
Latest CBS News Headlines
on Facebook
on CBS News
- Broadway set to tell the tale of Magic and Bird
- AG: Illinois to get $1B in mortgage settlement
- APNewsBreak: Official: 10 states get ed waiver
- Why "The Rock" craves return to wrestling ring
on Facebook
- Mo. teen gets life in prison for murder of 9-year-old girl
- Calif. surfer runs fastest-growing camera company
- "Person to Person": Bon Jovi behind the scenes
- "American Idol": Jim Carrey's daughter out, and then disaster
on CBS News





