Foreign Policy

John McCain

Barack Obama

*Translation

McCain has said he will increase the size of the military to take the burden from “too few.” He cites multiple and long tours of duty as hurting retention and recruitment efforts and by re-evaluating existing battle strategy in conflicts. He also would seek to increase pay and benefits for National Guard Reservists to place them on par with active-duty troops. He supports Israel’s sovereignty and has said he would not sit down with leaders of rogue states, but rather apply “real-world pressure” to come to a resolution. He has also called for Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps to be designated as a terrorist organization, but did not vote on the September 2007 Kyl-Lieberman amendment to H.R. 1585. The Republican would continue to work for peace between Israel and the Palestinians, but says Hamas needs to be isolated. On the conflict with Hezbollah in Lebanon, he says that peace will only come when Hezbollah is isolated by building schools, hospitals, road and power sources to undermine the group’s influence. Regarding Cuba, McCain would keep the embargo in place and not allow economic aid to the country. He would only consider lifting the embargo if all political prisoners are released, political parties, labor unions and free media are legalized and internationally monitored elections are scheduled.

The Democrat’s biggest foreign policy pledge has been that he would meet unconditionally with leaders of “rogue nations,” such as Iran, Syria, Venezuela, Cuba and North Korea during his first year in the White House. Obama also would increase the size of the military, particularly the Army and Marines. He also says long tours of duty are discouraging people to stay in or join the armed forces. On Israel, Obama states on his campaign Web site that he "supports U.S. efforts to provide aid directly to the Palestinian people by bypassing any Hamas-led government that refuses to renounce violence and recognize Israel's right to exist." He says he would push for a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians. The Democrat would call on Iran to abandon its nuclear program, support for terror, and threats to Israel or face political and economic sanctions. He did not vote on the September 2007 Kyl-Lieberman amendment asking the Bush administration to declare Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps a terrorist organization. He did not support the amendment, calling it "saber-rattling," but he did support the terrorist designation earlier in the year by co-sponsoring the Iran Counter-Proliferation Act. Obama says he is looking to normalize relations with Cuba but would not lift the embargo unless the country releases political prisoners, allows for a free press and takes other steps toward democracy.

Obama’s plan to sit down unconditionally with leaders of “rogue nations” might not be wise. While it sounds like a nice idea, talking to these leaders gives them legitimacy. North Korea is a country that historically has gone back on its word. “I don’t think there’s any value in engaging (them), because until there’s a leadership change, (Kim Jong Il) is never going to tell the truth or honor his commitments.” On Iran, the candidates’ two policies look pretty similar and also non-controversial, as other world democracies are talking about more sanctions against the country. But what’s true of North Korea might not be true of Iran. The difference between the candidates could be that Obama, while he’ll put pressure on them, might be more willing to try and engage them. “I think there may be a value in that.” Both candidates will continue to press for peace between Israel and the Palestinians, because a peaceful, stable situation there will only make things better. Their policies on this appear similar but McCain might be a bit more hard-line. With Hamas, McCain says the leadership needs to be isolated, while Obama takes a more guarded, or conditional, response. “As far as it working, they’re going to have to work with Hamas because they’re the democratically elected leadership. I feel like somebody needs to tell everybody that, and hold them to it.” With the Lebanon conflict, their policies seem similar, and the plan to support the Lebanese government is a good idea, one that has the potential for success. With the Cuban embargo, "I would guess it would be more likely to be lifted under Obama." There was talk in the Clinton administration about normalizing relations, but the Republicans tend to be more hard-line on this. With Fidel Castro no longer being in power, “some critical space has opened up. It would not surprise me that in the next four to eight years, it ends.” The embargo was not effective, it didn’t topple Castro from power. “There’s no reason to have it anymore.” From Cooper Drury, MU associate professor, political science.