Huntsman calls for foreign policy based on better economy

MANCHESTER, N.H. - Saying President Obama's policies have weakened the United States, former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman on Monday outlined his foreign policy vision in a speech here, although he continued to sound many of the economic themes that have defined his campaign.

As president, Huntsman said he would focus intently on reducing the national debt and reforming the nation's tax and regulatory codes as a way of making the country strong and renewing "American exceptionalism." He also took a swipe at front-runner Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor who laid out his foreign policy plan last week and called for stepped up defense spending, with particular emphasis on patrolling the seas in world hot spots.

"Simply advocating more ships, more troops, and more weapons is not a viable path forward," Huntsman said. "We need more agility, more intelligence, and more economic engagement with the world."

Huntsman has made New Hampshire the focus of his struggling bid, but a Harvard/St. Anselm poll published Monday confirmed just how far he has to go. Among likely voters in New Hampshire's first-in-the-nation primary, 38 percent said they favored Romney while just 4 percent said they would vote for Huntsman if the primary were held today. The survey was conducted in early October and has a 4.4 percent margin of error.

In his speech, Huntsman said that his "most urgent priority" would be "returning people to work, reducing our debt, restoring confidence in our future," a foreign policy he dubbed "fixing Ameria first."

"It will require serious, bold reforms to our tax and regulatory systems, reforms that I have offered as part of a plan that one economist calls the most pro-growth proposal ever offered by a presidential candidate," Huntsman told a crowd of 150 people in a 220-capacity auditorium at Southern New Hampshire University.

He said he would end "nation-building" as practiced in Afghanistan and elsewhere and focus instead of the war on terrorism. Other priorities would be strengthening U.S. ties with China and India. After a stint as Utah governor, Huntsman's was Obama's ambassador to China.

Of his experience as ambassador, Huntsman said, "What was always clear to me was that those seeking reform and change drew strength from our nation's values--the openness, the freedoms of speech, assembly, religion and press. Half a world away they could see this country's light. Dissidents around the world can see it. All the troops in the world cannot give you that light. ... That is America's value in the world today. When we shine our light abroad magnified by a strong core at home, we are invincible."

He called for a foreign policy "based on expansion --the expansion of America's competitiveness and engagement in the world through partnerships and trade agreements," and said that he would immediately pursue trade pacts with South Korea, Columbia and Panama. Huntsman said he would also push to open markets in Australia, Brunei, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam. His trade policy would boost American exports by $10 billion, Huntsman claimed, and serve as an engine of job creation.

On Afghanistan, he said, "After 6,000 lives lost and more than $1 trillion spent, it is time to bring our brave troops home. We could go from 100,000 boots on the ground to a much smaller footprint in a year, while leaving behind an adequate number of counterterrorist and intelligence functions and a facile special forces presence. And I believe we should."

Huntsman did not say how large a military force he would leave in the still turbulent country.