Washington - When the large field of Democratic and
Republican presidential candidates launched bids for the White House
more than a year ago, the campaign's main focus was sure to be
foreign policy and the bloody conflict in Iraq.
The candidates sought to portray their international affairs
credentials and outline their plans for bringing the fight in Iraq to
an acceptable conclusion.
Having captured their party's nominations, Democrat Barack Obama
and Republican John McCain were set to duel over who could best
repair relations with the rest of the world after eight years of
President George W Bush, resolve the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan,
handle the delicate diplomacy of curbing the nuclear activities of
Iran and North Korea and cope with a resurgent Russia - all while
keeping America safe.
But the sudden onslaught of the economic crisis in September has
changed the face of the race. Heading to the polls November 4,
Americans are now less fearful of terrorists and more worried about
the threat posed by the failings of Wall Street and a finance
industry.
Traditional foreign policy issues are likely to slide down the new
president's list of priorities as a result.
The next White House occupant, however, will have formidable
challenges abroad, beginning with the largest ongoing deployments of
US military forces in combat to be handed over from one president to
the next since the Vietnam War.
Both candidates have agreed the US must adopt a more multilateral
approach than Bush and work closely with allies to promote mutual
interests. But neither candidate has ruled out unilateral action when
vital US interests are at stake.
'Our great power does not mean that we can do whatever we want,
whenever we want,' McCain, 72, said in a key foreign policy address
in March. 'Nor should we assume we have all the wisdom and knowledge
necessary to succeed.'
Senator McCain, a prisoner during the Vietnam War, is seen as more
experienced than his opponent on foreign affairs. He voted in October
2002 to authorize the use of military force against Saddam Hussein.
Obama, elected to the US Senate only two years later, said he opposed
it, and the two have since sparred over how to move forward.
Obama, 47, has pledged to withdraw US combat forces within 16
months of taking office, while McCain endorses Bush's policy of
keeping troops there until the mission succeeds.
McCain called for a troop buildup in Iraq to counter escalating
violence long before Bush ordered the troop 'surge' in January 2007.
Obama opposed it and has since had to acknowledge the surge's success
in bringing bloodshed down to its lowest level since the aftermath of
the 2003 invasion. But he argues it has yet to bring political
reconciliation.
Obama wants to redeploy US troops from Iraq to Afghanistan to
fight a resurgent Taliban and al-Qaeda. The security environment in
Afghanistan took a major turn for the worse in the last two years,
with US casualties climbing to their highest rate yet. The violence
in Afghanistan now rivals levels in Iraq.
'I'm not convinced we're winning it in Afghanistan,' Admiral
Michael Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff who will
serve into the next president's term, said in September.
McCain has said he will refocus US and NATO efforts in
Afghanistan, but has characterized Obama's plan to begin troop
withdrawals from Iraq as 'irresponsible' and a retreat in the face of
terrorism.
In addressing Afghanistan, the next president will need to find a
way to cope with Pakistan, which has been unable to halt the use of
its mountainous terrain near the Afghan border by the Taliban as
refuge for launching attacks.
The Pakistani government fiercely resists allowing US forces into
the region to stomp out the Taliban or pursue al-Qaeda leaders or
even Osama bin Laden, and strongly condemned a series of covert US
raids into the territory this year.
Obama irked the Pakistanis when he said on the campaign trail that
he would order US forces into Pakistan, a close ally in the war on
terrorism despite widespread anti-American public sentiment, if he
had solid intelligence pointing to bin Laden's location.
Both candidates have chided Bush for mismanaging the war in Iraq
after Saddam Hussein's regime was ousted. Obama says he will not
recklessly pull US troops out.
'We need to be as careful getting out as we were careless going
in,' he frequently says.
Bush is trying to wrap up an agreement with the Iraqi government
before he leaves office in January that would establish a legal basis
for the presence of US troops after a UN mandate expires at the end
of this year.
Bush reluctantly agreed to a 2011 'horizon' for removing combat
brigades - close to Obama's withdrawal timeframe - under pressure
from Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. The Pentagon says the
agreement will not tie the hands of the next president.
While both senators have pledged to take a more multilateral
course in foreign affairs, they have not explained whether they
would alter the painstakingly-built multilateral approaches Bush
arranged to deal with the Iranian and North Korean nuclear
programmes.
Obama has said he is open to direct meetings with Iran's
leadership, including President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, without
preconditions, leading McCain to call him 'naive' in dealing with
enemies who advocate the destruction of Israel.
'It doesn't mean that you invite them over for tea one day,'
Obama countered.
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