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RNC: Clinton vs. Obama on Foreign Policy

Posted on: Monday, 1 December 2008, 10:20 CST

As Sen. Clinton Accepts Secretary Of State Position, It Is Worth Noting The Many Disagreements She And Obama Have On Critical Foreign Policy Issues

WASHINGTON, Dec. 1 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following release was issued today by the Republican National Committee:

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080519/RNCLOGO)

Clinton And Obama Attacked One Another On Their Foreign Policy Experience:

Clinton: "There's a big difference between delivering a speech at an anti-war rally as a state senator, and picking up that phone at the White House at 3 a.m. in the morning to deal with an international crisis." (Ben Smith and Beth Frerking, "'Red Phone' Response Could Decide Texas," The Politico, 3/1/08)

Clinton Implied That Obama Would Need An Instruction Manual And Team Of Advisers To Conduct Foreign Policy. Clinton: "The American people don't have to guess whether I understand the issues or whether I would need a foreign policy instruction manual to guide me through a crisis, or whether I'd have to rely on advisers to introduce me to global affairs." (Sen. Hillary Clinton, Remarks At The George Washington University, Washington, DC, 2/25/08)

The Obama Campaign Issued A Memo Mocking Clinton's Claim That Her Years As First Lady Prepared Her For An International Crisis. "There is no reason to believe, however, that she was a key player in foreign policy at any time during the Clinton Administration. She did not sit in on National Security Council meetings. She did not have a security clearance. She did not attend meetings in the Situation Room. She did not manage any part of the national security bureaucracy, nor did she have her own national security staff. She did not do any heavy-lifting with foreign governments, whether they were friendly or not. She never managed a foreign policy crisis, and there is no evidence to suggest that she participated in the decision-making that occurred in connection with any such crisis. As far as the record shows, Senator Clinton never answered the phone either to make a decision on any pressing national security issue -- not at 3 AM or at any other time of day." (Greg Craig, Obama For America Campaign Memo, 3/11/08)

Clinton Supported The Iraq War In 2002, Obama Opposed It:

Clinton Cast Her Vote For The Iraq War "With Conviction." Clinton: "This is a difficult vote. This is probably the hardest decision I have ever had to make. Any vote that may lead to war should be hard, but I cast it with conviction. ... So it is with conviction that I support this resolution as being in the best interests of our Nation." (Sen. Hillary Clinton, Congressional Record, 10/10/02, pp. S10289-S10290)

Obama Said He Would Have Voted Against The Iraq War Resolution. Public Affairs' Jeff Berkowitz: "How would you have voted a few months ago when they had the vote on the so called Iraq war powers resolution? Would you have -- is the democratic party split on that?" Obama: "I think there is a division." Berkowitz: "And how would you have voted? Would you have supported that resolution? Voted yea or nay?" Obama: "If it came to me in an up or down vote as it came, I think I would have agreed with our senior Senator Dick Durbin and voted nay." ("Public Affairs With Jeff Berkowitz," 11/25/02)

Obama Accused Clinton Of Attempting To "Rewrite History" Iraq War Record. Obama: "Some now seek to rewrite history. They argue that they weren't really voting for war, they were voting for inspectors. Or they were voting for diplomacy. But the Congress, the administration, the media and the American people all understood what we were debating in the fall of 2002. This was a vote about whether or not to go to war. We need to ask those who voted for war, 'how can you give the President a blank check and then act surprised when he cashes it?'" (MSNBC's "Tucker," 10/2/07)

Clinton Attacked Obama For Saying He Would Meet With Rogue Leaders Without Preconditions His First Year In Office:

Clinton Attacked Obama For Saying That He Would Meet With Hostile Foreign Leaders His First Year In Office Without Preconditions. Clinton: "[I] don't think the president should put the prestige of the presidency on the line in the first year to have meetings without preconditions with five of the worst dictators in the world." (Sen. Hillary Clinton, CNN Democrat Presidential Candidate Debate, Hollywood, CA, 1/30/08)

Clinton Attacked Obama's Position As "Irresponsible And, Frankly, Naive." Clinton: "I thought that was irresponsible and, frankly, naive to say that you would commit to meeting with, you know, Chavez and Castro and others within the first year." (ABC's "Good Morning America," 7/25/07)

Clinton Was At Odds With Obama On Legislation Designating Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps A Terrorist Organization:

Clinton Voted In Favor Of Legislation Designating Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps A Foreign Terrorist Organization. "The Kyl amendment would express the sense of the Senate that it is in the critical national interest of the United States to prevent the government of Iran from turning Shiite militia extremists in Iraq into a Hezbollah-like force that could serve its interests inside Iraq. It also would express that the United States should designate Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps as a foreign terrorist organization." (H.R. 1585, CQ Vote #349: Adopted 76-22: R 46-2; D 29-19; I 1-1, 9/26/07, Clinton Voted Yea)

Obama Called Clinton's Support For The Amendment "Reckless." Obama: "I strongly differ with Sen. Hillary Clinton, who was the only Democratic presidential candidate to support this reckless amendment. We do need to tighten sanctions on the Iranian regime, particularly on Iran's Revolutionary Guard, which sponsors terrorism far beyond Iran's borders. But this must be done separately from any unnecessary saber-rattling about checking Iranian influence with our 'military presence in Iraq.' Above all, it must be done through tough and direct diplomacy with Iran, which I have supported, and which Sen. Clinton has called 'naive and irresponsible.'" (Sen. Barack Obama, Op-Ed, "Five Years After Iraq War Vote, We're Still Foolishly Rattling Our Sabers," The [Manchester] Union Leader, 10/11/07)

Clinton Attacked Obama's Pakistan Policy:

Clinton Said Obama's Pakistan Policy Was "Not Particularly Wise." Clinton: "And on a number of other issues, I just believe that, you know, as Senator Obama said, yes, last summer he basically threatened to bomb Pakistan, which I don't think was a particularly wise position to take. I have long advocated a much tougher approach to Musharraf and to Pakistan, and have pushed the White House to do that." (Sen. Hillary Clinton, NBC Democrat Presidential Candidate Debate, Cleveland, OH, 2/26/08)

Paid for by the Republican National Committee.

www.gop.com

Not Authorized By Any Candidate Or Candidate's Committee.

SOURCE Republican National Committee

Source: PR Newswire

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