obama's foreign policy for latin-american nations.

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The Problem:

George Bush's policy in the Americas has been negligent toward our friends, ineffective with our adversaries, disinterested in the challenges that matter in people's lives, and incapable of advancing our interests in the region.

As the Americas have changed, we have sat on the sideline, offering no compelling vision and creating a vacuum for demagogues to advance an anti-American agenda.

Start a New Chapter of Engagement with Latin America and the Caribbean:

Obama and Biden will rebuild diplomatic links throughout the hemisphere through aggressive, principled, and sustained diplomacy in the Americas from Day One. He will bolster U.S. interests in the region by pursuing policies that advance democracy, opportunity, and security and will treat our hemispheric partners and neighbors with dignity and respect.

Promote Democracy in Cuba and Throughout the Hemisphere:

Barack Obama and Joe Biden will support democracy that is strong and sustainable in the day to day lives of the people of the Americas.

In the case of Cuba, they will empower our best ambassadors of freedom by allowing unlimited Cuban-American family travel and remittances to the island.

Using aggressive and principled bilateral diplomacy he will also send an important message: if a post-Fidel government takes significant steps toward democracy, beginning with freeing all political prisoners, the U.S. is prepared to take steps to normalize relations and ease the embargo that has governed relations between our countries for the last five decades.

Throughout the hemisphere, Obama and Biden will increase support for the building blocks of durable democracies--strong legislatures, independent judiciaries, free press, vibrant civil society, honest police forces, religious freedom, and the rule of law.

Work Towards Energy Security:

Barack Obama and Joe Biden will bring together the countries of the region in a new Energy Partnership for the Americas to forge a path toward sustainable growth and clean energy.

They will call on the American people to join this effort through an Energy Corps of engineers and scientists who will go to the region and beyond to help develop clean energy solutions.

Advance Opportunity from the Bottom-up:

Obama and Biden will substantially increase our aid to the Americas and embrace the Millennium Development Goal of cutting extreme poverty around the world in half by 2015, and they will double our foreign assistance to $50 billion to achieve that goal.

Trade Policy That Works for All People in All Countries:

Obama and Biden believe that trade with foreign nations should strengthen the American economy and create more American jobs. They will stand firm against agreements that undermine our economic security and will use trade agreements to spread good labor and environmental standards around the world.

Advance Security Across the Region:

Obama and Biden believe that we need to target all sources of insecurity through a new hemispheric security initiative.

This initiative will foster cooperation within the region to combat gangs, trafficking and violent criminal activity.

It will strive to find the best practices that work across the hemisphere, and to tailor approaches to fit each country.

THE SPEECH:
barackobama.com/2008/05/23/ .php

THE ACTUAL DRAFT:
barackobama.com/pdf/Fact_Sheet_Lat...

Wilgeens Rosenberg, October 16 2008, 11:41 AM

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