Bloggers from Iran, Pakistan, respond to U.S. Debate
PBS/FRONTLINE World Blogs / Omid Memarian/Arif Rafiq
01-Oct-2008

FRONLTINE/World: What is the most important foreign policy issue facing the next U.S president? And do McCain or Obama have the right policies to tackle this?
Omid Memarian: Restoring its credibility and moral authority in the world should be the centerpiece of the United States' foreign policy. This can happen if the U.S. employs multilateral instead of unilateral mechanisms to solve international crises. In the post 9/11 world; global leadership needs a horizontal structure, not a vertical one. During the debate McCain assumed an arrogant, irresponsible tone that belonged to the Vietnam era when he talked about Iran, Russia and Iraq.  Obama, on the other hand, seems to speak of other nations with respect. He talks about negotiating with U.S. adversaries by initiating tough diplomacy. This is a central component of "soft politics", which has proven to be more effective than the "hard politics" of force, fear and fury.

How do you feel Obama and McCain addressed the problems facing Iran?
McCain's understanding about the Middle East is outdated. He is admirable as a war hero, but his solutions to solve the foreign policy issues do not appeal to many other countries in the world.

McCain looks at enemies as if we were still in the Cold War, when, in reality, the nature of enemies in the 21st century has totally changed and demand new policies and approaches

>>>
recommended by News Goffer

Share/Save/Bookmark