Bernie Sanders at a Capitol Hill hearing. Photo: Jose Luis Magana / AP
At Westminster College in Missouri, the same location that Winston Churchill delivered his famous "Iron Curtain" speech in 1946, Sen. Bernie Sanders outlined his vision for American foreign policy today, stating that the objective should be "global engagement based on partnership" rather than dominance or withdrawal.
His bottom line: "In my view the United States must seek partnerships not just between governments, but between peoples. A sensible and effective foreign policy recognizes that our safety and welfare is bound up with the safety and welfare of others around the world, with 'all the homes and families of all the men and women in all the lands,' as Churchill said right here, 70 years ago."
Sanders' three key areas of global engagement: Climate change, economic inequality, and the promotion of human rights and dignity.
A successful example: Sanders cited the Iran nuclear deal as "real leadership" and "real power" that allowed the U.S. to make the world safer by diplomatic mean. He said that walking away would be a "mistake" that could damage the nation's standing in the world, asking, "Why would any country in the world sign such an agreement with the United States if they knew that a reckless president and an irresponsible Congress might simply discard that agreement a few years later?"
His next target: He views North Korea as the next target for international cooperation via diplomacy, advocating coordinated sanctions over a military option: "This will involve working closely with other countries, particularly China, on whom North Korea relies for some 80 percent of its trade. But we should also continue to make clear that this is a shared problem, not to be solved by any one country alone but by the international community working together."