By Johan Galtung and - -
NEW YORK, Nov 27 2006 (IPS)

It is time that US foreign policy be based on the principles upon which the US claims it was founded: democracy, equality, fairness, and the rule of law, not the rule of men, write Johan Galtung, professor of peace studies and founder and co- director of TRANSCEND: A Network for Peace and Development (www.transcend.org), and Marilyn Langlois, chair of TRANSCEND-USA. In this article, the authors write that the basic principle should be equality, We should ask ourselves whether we would want other countries to do to us what we do to them. This would rule out military occupation, unequal trade– exchanging processed goods for raw materials– and any form of dominance, threats, or bullying. It would include all measures that protect the four basic human needs for survival, economic well-being, freedom, and identity US policy goals for Iraq should include: acknowledging that the US role in the illegal invasion and occupation of Iraq, resulting in suffering and destruction; abiding by the expressed wishes of the Iraqi people to remove the US military presence; asking Iraqis at all levels of society what they want the US to do to support their own efforts to rebuild their country; engaging in equitable trade and support constructive dialogue and cooperation among Iraq and its neighbours

It is doubtful that he meant that other countries should intervene militarily in the United States, as it has intervened in Iraq and 39 other countries since 1946, in some repeatedly; or bomb American cities as the US has bombed Baghdad, Falluja, Belgrade, Tripoli, Benghazi, and Hanoi to name a few; or establish military bases on US soil, as the US maintains over 700 foreign military bases in 130 countries; or exploit US natural resources, as the US consumes the resources of poor countries.

Maybe he should have said, “The US should treat other countries the way they treat us.”

It is time that US foreign policy be based on the principles upon which the US claims it was founded: democracy, equality, fairness, and the rule of law. President Carter set a good precedent by making human rights and mutual respect the cornerstone of his foreign policy. As he said recently, “If you tell North Korea, Iran, Syria, and Palestine, this is our position and if you don’t agree with us 100% we are not going to talk with you, you cannot expect good relations.” The US certainly would not respond well to such an ultimatum.

On November 4, a group of peace workers, mediators, and community leaders met in Richmond, California, and drafted an alternative US foreign policy to move the US towards cooperative partnership with the rest of the world. The workshop was organised by TRANSCEND-USA, part of a global network for peaceful conflict transformation.

A key element of the Transcend method is to identify the goals of all the parties in a conflict through empathic dialogue, and to find creative ways to meet all parties’ legitimate goals. Goals are legitimate if they affirm human rights and serve to meet basic human needs. Legitimate goals are reciprocal, i.e., whatever we want we should be willing to grant to other parties as well. The level of human happiness and the satisfaction of basic needs in any given society should be the measure of a policy’s success. By these criteria, the current US foreign policy in Iraq and elsewhere is a failure, a source of great human suffering.

The majority of American voters drew that conclusion on November 7. The new US Congress controlled by the Democrats has the power to end the US intervention in Iraq by eliminating its funding. Will it have the courage to do so?

The following specific suggestions were made in four areas: Iraq, East Asia, Mexico and the United Nations.

As a global partner, the US should hold itself to the same standards of international law that it expects of others. Affirming the principle of government of, by, and for the people, the US should listen to and respect the will of people who are affected by a policy, at home and abroad. In order to promote liberty and justice for all, the US should acknowledge current and past human rights violations and commit to fair reparations.

US policy goals for Iraq should include:

– acknowledging the US role in the illegal invasion and occupation of Iraq, resulting in suffering and destruction;

– abiding by the expressed wishes of the Iraqi people to remove the US military presence;

– asking Iraqis at all levels of society what they want the US to do to support their own efforts to rebuild their country;

– engaging in equitable trade and support constructive dialogue and cooperation among Iraq and its neighbours.

US policy goals for East Asia should include:

– asking the states in the region what assistance they want from the US and honouring their wishes about the presence or removal of US troops in their countries;

– acknowledging the US role in massive civilian death and suffering caused by its use of nuclear weapons in Hiroshima and Nagasaki;

– committing the US to dismantling its nuclear arsenal if other countries, including North Korea, agree to eliminate their nuclear weapons programmes.

US policy goals for Mexico should include:

– dialogue with people in Mexico on how to build economic, cultural, and political relationships based on partnership, not exploitation;

– re-evaluation of NAFTA to eliminate the suffering it has caused on both sides of the border;

– acknowledgment of the US seizure of vast territories from Mexico in 1848;

– joining Mexico in acknowledging what has been done to indigenous peoples in North America and exploring reparations.

US policy goals for the United Nations should include:

– ensuring that membership of the Security Council is representative of the world’s population and abolition of the veto; and

– development of a stronger UN commitment to peaceful conflict resolution before violence erupts, not only the deployment of peacekeepers afterwards. (END/COPYRIGHT IPS)

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