August 17, 1992 THE REPUBLICAN NATIONAL SECURITY AGENDA FOR THE NEXT FOUR YEARS o We will concentrate in the next four years on the interrelationship between domestic and foreign policy, and between economic and security policy. o Building a commonwealth of freedom differs greatly from the old concept of containment. It rests on a stable balance of power but goes beyond it to emphasize, above all, the supremacy of an idea: a common conception of how to make freedom work for all the nations moving with us into a radically changing future. By forging consensus whenever possible, we multiply our country's power and project its principles. But if necessary we will act alone to protect American interests. o In this context, Republican foreign policy objectives in the next four years are to: -- consolidate and extend the victory of democracy; -- expand opportunities for increased US success in the global marketplace; and -- manage new threats to international security. Securing the Victory of Democracy o Sustaining the United States as a European power in the broadest sense, we will preserve NATO's strength and work with the European Community to promote the emergence of stable democracies in Eastern Europe. o In the former Soviet Union, we will nurture new governments committed to political and economic liberty. o We will engage the parties in South Africa in building a truly democratic nation and support the encouraging trend away from authoritarianism in the rest of Africa. o We will join with Latin America as it enters an unprecedented era of freedom and strive to end Castro's grip on Cuba. o Working with our friends in Asia, we will press to bring democracy to Southeast Asia and promote fundamental human rights in China. Opening the World to American Business o We will strive to open those global markets still closed to our products by standing up for the principles of free trade. o As we enact the North American Free Trade Agreement and create the largest zone for open commerce in the world, we will also conclude a global trade agreement that removes barriers to American products. o Then we can build an expanding network of free trade agreements with the market democracies of Latin America that are turning to us, with East European democracies that want a special relationship with the United States, and with Pacific nations that want their future secure with America's. Meeting New Threats to Our Security o While maintaining the best armed forces in the world, we will protect the US capability to defeat potential adversaries with the same success we enjoyed in Panama and the Gulf War. o We will manage a sensible and controlled drawdown of our armed forces, not a freefall which would crack the readiness and morale of our fighting men and women. o We will retain our capacity to meet any reemergence of a new global threat to America and the free world, and act against continuing dangers from drug trafficking and terrorism. o We are not seeking to be the world's policeman but, as in Desert Storm, to exercise US leadership through coalitions and international organizations such as the United Nations. o Recognizing the danger posed by proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, we will cooperate in managing safely the deep reduction and consolidation of the vast nuclear arsenal in the former USSR and oppose efforts by states such as North Korea and Iran to acquire nuclear weapons. o To avert the threat of war in the Middle East and protect the security of our strategic ally Israel, we will build on the most promising negotiations ever between Israel and its Arab neighbors, ensure Israel's qualitative military advantages, and insist on strict UN supervision of Iraq. o We will work to develop and deploy effective, global defenses against limited ballistic missile attacks. Proven Leadership o Above all, we will use American principles, power, and influence to win the peace after freedom's victory in the Cold War. o America can rely on President George Bush's proven record, judgment, and vision for the future. # # #