Topic: Foreign Policy and Defense
Tristan: Republican
Shawn: Democratic
One of the most controversial issues in today’s politics is the issue of foreign policy. Both Democrats and Republicans have very different viewpoints on what is best for the country. In a dialogue style format, Tristan You and Shawn Sie will take a deeper look into the different perspectives and uncover the ideas that make each side unique.
Tristan:
The Republican party follows Ronald Reagan's approach to national defense, the same plan that ended the cold war. There is peace through strength. This requires being vigilant in the face of terrorism, rising up against the threat of nuclear proliferation, and keeping our military and ballistic missile defense system up to date and modern. Not only do we plan on keeping foreign aggression away by maintaining a strong military, but we also believe in maintaining and growing our foreign alliances and relationships that lead to peace and growth.
Shawn:
The Democratic Party believes in being “stronger in the world, safer and more secure at home.” This entails ending the wars in the Middle East, spending efforts to address the increasing threats towards our country, strengthening and building relationships with other nations, working to increase global prosperity, maintaining our nation’s strong military, and upholding the core values our nation was founded on. By achieving these goals, the Democratic Party is driven to continue to solve the problems both domestically and globally to help ensure a safe home for all.
Tristan:
Your party says that the Democratic Party wants to maintain America’s strong military. Yet you want to cut the defense budget by over 487 billion dollars. If these cuts are made, there will be over a million layoffs of skilled workers. Additionally your own secretary of defense said that these cuts will be devastating. “The half-trillion in additional cuts demanded by sequester would lead to a hollow force incapable of sustaining the missions it is assigned”. The democratic party says that they will maintain the nation’s military but your policies do not reflect that. How can you create more jobs when you are just taking them away by making cuts to something that is fundamental to the safety of America?
Shawn:
For more than a decade, our country has been at war. Eleven years of constant deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan have left soldiers’ families hoping that their loved one would come home safe. Now that the wars are slowly ending, the country has an opportunity to revamp our armed forces and ensure that the nation’s army is capable of dealing with the threats of the 21st century. Troops will have less deployments, giving them more time to train and prepare for the missions they will have to face. As the need for a large military decreases with the ending of the wars, the Democratic Party will seek to create a more agile and flexible military that still ensures our nation’s security.
The Democratic Party stresses international cooperation. The Democratic Party believe that solving some of the largest threats to our country, such as the creation of nuclear weapons and increase in cyber and biological attacks, require global cooperation from everyone. That is why the Democratic Party is committed to “modernizing [the United Nations] infrastructure for the 21st century--working to reform international bodies and strengthen national and multilateral capabilities to advance peace, security, and opportunity.” What is the Republican’s stance on international cooperation and how do they plan on ending the constant threats our country is facing?
Tristan:
The Republican party acknowledges that the proliferation of both nuclear and biological weapons, as well as the rise in cyber attacks are issues that need to be addressed. This is why the Republicans believe not only in a strong military but growing and building upon our foreign alliances and relationships. In regards to the proliferation of nuclear weapons, America is the only country not modernizing its nuclear defense, only through maintaining military superiority can we deter nuclear threats. While China and Russia are world competitors equipped with nuclear arms, the acquisition of nuclear weapons to unstable regions present a much larger threat. North Korea and Iran are continuing to strive for the successful development of nuclear weapons, if they ever successfully created a nuclear weapon the consequences could be grave. The Republican party see’s Iran's goals towards nuclear proliferation as a real threat and believe that the United States needs to lead the charge to prevent them from attaining nuclear weapons. This is why we need to modernize our missile defense systems, instead of undermining our nuclear defense programs.
Cyber threats are an ever increasing threat to the nation. The republican party will modernize cybersecurity in order to make sure that our most protected secrets are kept safe. Defending against Cyber threats also means making sure China is playing by the rules. The Republican Party believes in cracking down on Chinese hackers, as well as Chinese counterfeit goods. We want to maintain a strong and peaceful relationship with China, but we also want to make sure China is not harming American society.
Shawn:
The Obama administration has made progress on the major issues concerning our country. Whether the issue is ending the war in Iraq, defeating al-Qaeda, protecting the country from biological and cyber threats, or preventing the spread of nuclear weapons, the Obama administration has made strides to preventing all of these issues.
Through the ending of the war in Iraq and striking major blows to al-Qaeda, the Obama administration has been able to address other threats to our nation, such as the prevention of nuclear, biological, and cyber threats. In addressing nuclear threats, the Democratic Party is committed to putting in place crippling sanctions and consequences for countries who do not comply with their obligations to not create nuclear weapons. When it comes to Iran, President Obama is committed to making sure Iran does not acquire a nuclear weapon and will continue to increase the pressure on Iran to live up to the obligation they have to not acquire nuclear weapons.
With issues pertaining to cyber threats, the Democratic Party is dedicated to investing in advanced research and development to defend against the increasing amount of cyber threats to our country. The Democratic Party also wants to promote cybersecurity awareness and help businesses protect against cyber attacks. In terms of biological weapons, President Obama will work to reduce the chances of having an outbreak of infectious diseases and will reduce the chances of the potential for exploitation.
Closing Statements:
Tristan:
The Republican party places American safety and success as our top priority. We believe that Americans need to feel safe at home. By building upon our military and modernizing our equipment and defense systems the Republicans can keep America safe. America is faced with numerous and varied threats, but by maintaining a strong military and not making cuts that will undermine our nation's defense we can keep the American people safe. Furthermore Republicans will strengthen our foreign relationships and make sure that there is global cooperation.
Shawn:
Through the protection of the nuclear, biological, and cyber threats, the Democratic Party is committed to the safety of America and building relationships between other countries. Because there is less of a need for a larger military, the nation can now focus their attention on the other numerous threats that affect our country. In addition, the Democratic Party realizes the need to work with other nations to solve the world’s problems. That is why they are striving to create new relationships and strengthen old ones to help ensure international cooperation.
Which side do you agree with?
Leave comments below.
If you want to find out more about each party's views, visit:
http://www.democrats.org/democratic-national-platform#stronger-world
http://www.gop.com/2012-republican-platform_home/
