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Feingold talks about global issues, policy

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by Douglas Schuette

Monday, November 20, 2006

U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., discussed the future of American foreign policy in a post-9/11 world at the Monona Terrace Saturday.

The Madison Civics Club sponsored the luncheon — which was well-attended despite Saturday’s University of Wisconsin football game — where Feingold addressed a myriad of global issues, including the Iraq War and the implications of global terrorism.

Feingold, who is a UW alum, said that on Sept. 11, 2001, "America became an adult." In its youth, he added, America had accomplished “unbelievable things,” but 9/11 forced America to “become a part of the rest of the world.”

Feingold said he initially supported the post-9/11 war in Afghanistan. But where America went wrong, he added, was shifting its focus to Iraq.

According to a list released by the U.S. State Department immediately following 9/11, the al-Qaida terrorist organization was operating in 45 countries. Iraq, Feingold said, was not included in that list.

“Think about the disconnect between what really happened to us and what we were doing in Iraq,” Feingold said. “When [President George W. Bush] wants to defend his situation in Iraq, he doesn’t put out a document called ‘Victory over Terrorism,’ he puts out a document called ‘Victory in Iraq.’”

The senator also stressed the importance of addressing terrorism in other parts of the world. He said that he was one of only two U.S. senators to visit Indonesia in the last three years, which he said is home to a large number of terrorists that receives “virtually no” attention from the United States.

In an interview with The Badger Herald, UW professor of South-Eastern Asian Studies Charles Irish agreed with Feingold about the importance of Indonesia in the War on Terror. Indonesians are largely moderate Muslims, Irish said, and Indonesia's importance as a "potential ally" is "massively important."

Irish disagreed, however, with Feingold's assessment of U.S. activity in Southeast Asia. Irish said the U.S. has "not done a good job in Indonesia," but noted that U.S. intelligence agencies as well as the agencies in their respective Southeast Asian countries are well-aware of the activities of terrorist groups such as Jemaah Islamiyah. These intelligence agencies, he said, are quite active, both "covertly and overtly."

And while Feingold also pointed to Thailand as a hotbed for terrorist activities, Irish argued that terrorism in Thailand is "a very localized problem."

"Thailand is more than capable of dealing with [its terrorism] than a bunch of roughshod Americans," Irish said.

But Feingold said thinking of the world as a whole is difficult but necessary when dealing with terrorism.

“You just can’t go country by country,” he said. “You just won’t grasp the issues if you don’t see how these countries, these situations, are all interrelated.”

Feingold advocated the redirected deployment of troops from Iraq by mid-2007, while continuing to train Iraqi troops. The focus of the War on Terror and of America’s military budget, he said, should not be Iraq.

“It’s like we’re spending 95 percent of our resources on 5 percent of the problem,” Feingold said. “That doesn’t work.”

Feingold added that international relations are also very important. He pointed to Bush’s use of the term “Islamic fascism” as offensive to many Muslims. Such language, he said, “is an insult to Islam” and to the 1.3 billion Muslims worldwide.

“Our goal is to isolate terrorists,” he said, “not Muslims.”

After his speech, Feingold responded to questions from the audience, which primarily regarded domestic issues. The last question of the day addressed Feingold’s recent decision to decline a bid for the 2008 presidential race, asking him if there was any way he would change his mind.

Feingold accepted the audience’s applause and said he enjoys having the ability, in his current capacity, to "have an immediate impact on these issues." Feingold added he would support candidates for presidency, and playfully noted that a number of presidential candidates have been "as warm as can be" lately.

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Anonymous (November 20, 2006 @ 4:35pm):

Yawn.

Anonymous (November 21, 2006 @ 3:00pm):

AUTHORIZATION FOR USE OF MILITARY FORCE AGAINST IRAQ RESOLUTION OF 2002
Public Law 107-243
107th Congress

Whereas in 1990 in response to Iraq's war of aggression against and illegal occupation of Kuwait, the United States forged a coalition of nations to liberate Kuwait and its people in order to defend the national security of the United States and enforce United Nations Security Council resolutions relating to Iraq;

Whereas after the liberation of Kuwait in 1991, Iraq entered into a United Nations sponsored cease-fire agreement pursuant to which Iraq unequivocally agreed, among other things, to eliminate its nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons programs and the means to deliver and develop them, and to end its support for international terrorism;

Whereas the efforts of international weapons inspectors, United States intelligence agencies, and Iraqi defectors led to the discovery that Iraq had large stockpiles of chemical weapons and a large scale biological weapons program, and that Iraq had an advanced nuclear weapons development program that was much closer to producing a nuclear weapon than intelligence reporting had previously indicated;

Whereas Iraq, in direct and flagrant violation of the cease-fire, attempted to thwart the efforts of weapons inspectors to identify and destroy Iraq's weapons of mass destruction stockpiles and development capabilities, which finally resulted in the withdrawal of inspectors from Iraq on October 31, 1998;

Whereas in Public Law 105-235 (August 14, 1998), Congress concluded that Iraq's continuing weapons of mass destruction programs threatened vital United States interests and international peace and security, declared Iraq to be in ``material and unacceptable breach of its international obligations'' and urged the President ``to take appropriate action, in accordance with the Constitution and relevant laws of the United States, to bring Iraq into compliance with its international obligations'';

Whereas Iraq both poses a continuing threat to the national security of the United States and international peace and security in the Persian Gulf region and remains in material and unacceptable breach of its international obligations by, among other things, continuing to possess and develop a significant chemical and biological weapons capability, actively seeking a nuclear weapons capability, and supporting and harboring terrorist organizations;

Whereas Iraq persists in violating resolution of the United Nations Security Council by continuing to engage in brutal repression of its civilian population thereby threatening international peace and security in the region, by refusing to release, repatriate, or account for non-Iraqi citizens wrongfully detained by Iraq, including an American serviceman, and by failing to return property wrongfully seized by Iraq from Kuwait;

Whereas the current Iraqi regime has demonstrated its capability and willingness to use weapons of mass destruction against other nations and its own people;

Whereas the current Iraqi regime has demonstrated its continuing hostility toward, and willingness to attack, the United States, including by attempting in 1993 to assassinate former President Bush and by firing on many thousands of occasions on United States and Coalition Armed Forces engaged in enforcing the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council;

Whereas members of al Qaida, an organization bearing responsibility for attacks on the United States, its citizens, and interests, including the attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, are known to be in Iraq;

Whereas Iraq continues to aid and harbor other international terrorist organizations, including organizations that threaten the lives and safety of United States citizens;

Whereas the attacks on the United States of September 11, 2001, underscored the gravity of the threat posed by the acquisition of weapons of mass destruction by international terrorist organizations;

Whereas Iraq's demonstrated capability and willingness to use weapons of mass destruction, the risk that the current Iraqi regime will either employ those weapons to launch a surprise attack against the United States or its Armed Forces or provide them to international terrorists who would do so, and the extreme magnitude of harm that would result to the United States and its citizens from such an attack, combine to justify action by the United States to defend itself;

Whereas United Nations Security Council Resolution 678 (1990) authorizes the use of all necessary means to enforce United Nations Security Council Resolution 660 (1990) and subsequent relevant resolutions and to compel Iraq to cease certain activities that threaten international peace and security, including the development of weapons of mass destruction and refusal or obstruction of United Nations weapons inspections in violation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 687 (1991), repression of its civilian population in violation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 688 (1991), and threatening its neighbors or United Nations operations in Iraq in violation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 949 (1994);

Whereas in the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution (Public Law 102-1), Congress has authorized the President "to use United States Armed Forces pursuant to United Nations Security Council Resolution 678 (1990) in order to achieve implementation of Security Council Resolution 660, 661, 662, 664, 665, 666, 667, 669, 670, 674, and 677";

Whereas in December 1991, Congress expressed its sense that it "supports the use of all necessary means to achieve the goals of United Nations Security Council Resolution 687 as being consistent with the Authorization of Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution (Public Law 102-1)," that Iraq's repression of its civilian population violates United Nations Security Council Resolution 688 and "constitutes a continuing threat to the peace, security, and stability of the Persian Gulf region," and that Congress, "supports the use of all necessary means to achieve the goals of United Nations Security Council Resolution 688";

Whereas the Iraq Liberation Act of 1998 (Public Law 105-338) expressed the sense of Congress that it should be the policy of the United States to support efforts to remove from power the current Iraqi regime and promote the emergence of a democratic government to replace that regime;

Whereas on September 12, 2002, President Bush committed the United States to "work with the United Nations Security Council to meet our common challenge" posed by Iraq and to "work for the necessary resolutions," while also making clear that "the Security Council resolutions will be enforced, and the just demands of peace and security will be met, or action will be unavoidable";

Whereas the United States is determined to prosecute the war on terrorism and Iraq's ongoing support for international terrorist groups combined with its development of weapons of mass destruction in direct violation of its obligations under the 1991 cease-fire and other United Nations Security Council resolutions make clear that it is in the national security interests of the United States and in furtherance of the war on terrorism that all relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions be enforced, including through the use of force if necessary;

Whereas Congress has taken steps to pursue vigorously the war on terrorism through the provision of authorities and funding requested by the President to take the necessary actions against international terrorists and terrorist organizations, including those nations, organizations, or persons who planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, or harbored such persons or organizations;

Whereas the President and Congress are determined to continue to take all appropriate actions against international terrorists and terrorist organizations, including those nations, organizations, or persons who planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, or harbored such persons or organizations;

Whereas the President has authority under the Constitution to take action in order to deter and prevent acts of international terrorism against the United States, as Congress recognized in the joint resolution on Authorization for Use of Military Force (Public Law 107-40); and

Whereas it is in the national security interests of the United States to restore international peace and security to the Persian Gulf region:

Now, therefore, be it Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
States of America in Congress assembled,

SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION FOR USE OF UNITED STATES ARMED FORCES.

(a) Authorization.--The President is authorized to use the Armed Forces of the United States as he determines to be necessary and appropriate in order to--
(1) defend the national security of the United States against the continuing threat posed by Iraq; and
(2) enforce all relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions regarding Iraq.