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BY Yosef of Labor Action list

"Barack Obama as President would be a conventional US imperialist and military interventionist. We know this from an article Senator Obama wrote in the July-August 2007 issue of the establishment magazine, Foreign Affairs. In his article, the Democratic presidential hopeful discloses his view that

--the US must maintain its "clear and strong commitment to Israel's security as its "starting point" in the Middle East, helping Israel in "isolating those who seek conflict and instability"

--US diplomacy must "raise the cost for Iran of continuing its nuclear program by applying tougher sanctions," and "the world must work to stop Iran" in its nuclear undertakings. Obama as President would seek to "isolate Iran"

--Obama thinks the US should "become better prepared to put boots on the ground" through military interventions overseas, adding "65,000 soldiers to the army and 27,000 marines"

--Obama would "not hesitate to use force, unilaterally if necessary, to protect the American people or our vital interests"

--Obama wants "a strong international coalition to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons and eliminate North Korea's nuclear weapons program," and he declares, "In confronting these threats, I will not take the military option off the table"

--Obama believes "Success in Afghanistan is still possible" through decisive action and building "a twenty-first century military"

In his article, Obama twice mentions the Cold War positively and invokes the interventionists Truman and Kennedy. Combining naïveté with illusion, Obama looks back fondly to the classic age of US world hegemony:

"It was not all that long ago that farmers in Venezuela and Indonesia welcomed American doctors to their villages and hung pictures of JFK on their living room walls, when millions, like my father, waited every day for a letter in the mail that would grant them the privilege to come to America to study, work, live, or just be free. We can be this America again. This is our moment to renew the trust and faith of our people -- and all people -- in an America that battles immediate evils, promotes an ultimate good, and leads the world once more."

It really needs to be added that people throughout Latin America and elsewhere would seriously disagree with Obama's claim that being dominated by the US "promotes an ultimate good."

Reference:
http://www.foreignaffairs.org/20070701faessay86401-p60/barack-obama/renewing-american-leadership.html