The Vision Shared Uniting Our Family, Our Country, Our World The Republican Platform - 1992 UNITING OUR WORLD - PART 1 - THE TRIUMPH OF FREEDOM The world is now our neighborhood. Its triumphs and tragedies affect our communities, our jobs, and the security of our families. That is why Republicans want America to shape the international future: because we put America first. Not everyone does. Just twelve years ago, the forces of freedom were in tattered retreat. A failed foreign policy by a Democrat White House and Democrat-controlled Congress had left our allies uncertain, our friends betrayed, our foes emboldened. It was a frightening era, in some ways the worst of times. We all remember the flickering television images of blindfolded Americans being degraded by thugs. When voters make their choice in this year's elections, they should ask themselves: are we safer and stronger today, in 1992, than we were in 1980, when Jimmy Carter was the Democrat President? Republicans are proud to answer those questions. The Nation's international position has not just improved since the Democrats left office. It has been transformed. Never in this century has the United States enjoyed such security from foreign enemies. With President Bush leading the free world, the Soviet empire has collapsed, as Ronald Reagan predicted, into the dustbin of history. Eastern Europe is liberated. Germany is peacefully united. The former Soviet armies are returning home. Nuclear arsenals are being cut to fractions of their former size. A democratically elected Russian president sits in the Kremlin. Ukraine, Armenia, and the Baltic states take their rightful place among the family of nations. Israel and all of its Arab neighbors talk face to face for the first time. Nicaragua and Panama celebrate democracy. It might very well not have turned out this way. Only the naive believe that history is an inevitable tide or a series of accidents. Our crusade of a half-century, to champion freedom and civilization against the dark night of totalitarianism, is now victorious. An American President led the free world to this great triumph. George Bush was that man. Freedom's victory begins a new chapter in the epic of America, full of both promise and peril. This different and unpredictable world demands visionary, experienced leadership, tested and strengthened, careful and cool. At stake is nothing less than our security, our prosperity, and our children's future. Americans can trust President Bush with that awesome responsibility THE TRIUMPH OF FREEDOM No other President in the long history of our country has achieved so many of the enduring objectives of American foreign policy in so short a time as has George Bush. He made it look easy, even destined. It was neither. Building on the legacy of Ronald Reagan, George Bush saw the chance to sweep away decadent Communism. He was the first Western leader to declare his determination to fashion "a Europe whole and free." He took the free world beyond containment, led the way in aiding democracy in Eastern Europe, and punched holes through the rusting Iron Curtain. We all remember the joy we felt when we saw the people of Berlin dancing on top of the crumbling Wall that had symbolized four decades of Communist oppression. He championed Germany's right to become again one nation and orchestrated the diplomacy to make it happen, on Western terms, in one astounding year. Foreseeing revolutionary change in the Soviet Union itself, he carefully pushed its rulers to open the way to the democratic future. When crisis came, in August 1991, George Bush, in the words of Boris Yeltsin, "Was the first to understand the true meaning of the victory of the Russian people," and gave his decisive backing to the cause of democracy. The world had never before faced the disintegration of a nuclear superpower. Today, thanks in large part to President Bush's initiatives, nuclear weapons are found in only four countries of the former Soviet Union Ñ not fourteen. Because of his efforts all but Russia are giving up any claim to these weapons, and Russia has agreed to destroy the most dangerous missiles ever built. The balance of terror is fading away. The ideals of liberty, both political and economic, are the dominant moral and intellectual force around the globe. George Bush made it happen. Yet now that we have won the Cold War, we must also win the peace. We must not repeat the mistake of the past by throwing away victory through complacency. A new world beckons, unlike any we have ever known, filled with uncertainties. Old passions have reemerged. New democracies struggle to decide their destiny. Nations are torn asunder. Migrants and refugees strain the social fabric of continents. Tyrants work to build nuclear, chemical, and even biological weapons to threaten us and our neighbors. Drug trafficking and terrorism, often linked, menace Americans at home and abroad. Great transitions in world affairs are rarely tidy. They challenge statesmanship, require steadiness and wisdom. History teaches that when the United States shrinks from the world, we hasten the emergence of new dangers. Republicans remember the lesson taught by our Founders: that eternal vigilance is the price of liberty. MEETING THE CHALLENGE. The Gulf War showed the world how much is at stake when voters choose their President. George Bush had known war first hand. So he tried the way of peaceÑmonths of negotiations and economic sanctionsÑthen did what a President must do. He led from powerful convictions based on American values. The United States, in a preeminent position of world leadership, forged a new strategy of collective engagement which invigorated the United Nations. This was not the same United States held hostage in 1980, when the Democrats controlled both the White House and the Congress. No helpless giant here. The President charted a path that wrecked Saddam Hussein's dreams of conquest and nuclear aggression while keeping America from the quagmire of indefinite military occupation of Iraq. President Bush, trusting the military commanders he had chosen, was Commander-in-Chief of one of the finest achievements in the distinguished history of our armed forces. Americans will never forget that, of the 323 Congressional Democrats, only 96 voted to support Operation Desert Storm and 227 voted to oppose it. If the Democrats had prevailed, Saddam Hussein would still be in Kuwait, armed with nuclear weapons. Everyone discovered what difference a vote for President can make. LEADERSHIP THROUGH PARTNERSHIP. A new era demands a new agenda. Our post- Cold War strategy both reflects our country's ideals and guards its interests. 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. Republicans understand that objective cannot be pursued by the United States alone. We therefore have harnessed the free world's strength to American leadership. But such a strategy requires a President whose lead others will trust and follow. By forging consensus whenever possible, we multiply the impact of our Nation's power and principles. But if necessary we will act alone to protect American interests. Consistent with our policy and traditions, we oppose any actions that would undermine America's sovereignty, either in political or economic matters. Leadership through partnership allows us to project American ideals and protect American Interests abroad, at less cost to our taxpayers. That is how we will secure the victory of democracy as the best guarantee of a world without war. It is how we will open the world for American business to ensure prosperity in an open international economy. And it is how we will banish the nuclear nightmare, limit the danger from weapons of mass destruction, and safely manage a critical transition in our Nation's defenses. SECURING THE VICTORY OF DEMOCRACY. The spread of democracy and economic liberty is the best guarantee of peace. It can mean speaking out or applying economic pressure to encourage peaceful change; aiding democratic forces; or being ready, as a last resort, to take military action where vital American interests are at stake, as when President Bush restored the rule of law to Panama. Republican Presidents have used all these tools in a comprehensive, consistent campaign to promote democracy worldwide. New tests lie ahead. On past occasions, the tide of liberty has ebbed as dictators recaptured much of what they had lost. We want freedom's wave to roll on to reach countries like China, Cuba, North Korea, Vietnam, and others. We want to keep drawing attention to serious human rights violations around the world. spurring other governments to make and fulfill the promise of liberty to their people. We want to prevent any new ideology of authoritarianism from drawing any of the world's people to a grim and vengeful vision of our future. This is the challenge we face in the next four years. It is why President Bush led the way in promoting assistance to the fledgling democracies of Eastern Europe. It is why he has persuaded the Congress to invest in the democratic future of nations reborn from Communism. To the peoples of those nations, and to the Russian people in particular, we declare: If you stay on the path to freedom, we stand ready to help. We rejoice especially with the people of Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia, whose nationhood we have always upheld in law and in our hearts. In Western Europe, we reaffirm the NATO alliance. While we reduce our troop commitments on the continentÑa thousand soldiers are coming home every weekÑwe must keep a powerful force deployed there. The United States must remain a European power in the broadest sense, able to influence the policies and events that affect the livelihood and security of future generations of Americans. The violence in what used to be Yugoslavia is an affront to humanity. We condemn those responsible for the carnage there and call for an immediate international investigation of atrocities. We support the United Nations peacekeeping effort and urge an immediate cease-fire by all parties. The United States should continue to demand respect for international law and fundamental human rights in this agonizing conflict. We encourage a peaceful settlement for Cyprus and respect by all parties for the wishes of the Cypriot people. We urge peace and justice for Northern Ireland. We welcome the newly begun process of constitutional dialogue that holds so much promise. We encourage investment and reconstruction to create opportunity for all. In the Middle East, prospects for peace have been transformed by the determined statesmanship of George Bush. Without the leadership of President Bush, Iraq would today threaten world peace, the peace and security of the Middle East, and the very survival of Israel with a huge conventional army and nuclear weapons. Direct peace talks, on terms Israel rightly had sought for more than four decades, would not be a reality. Soviet Jewish emigration likely would have been interrupted. The rescue of Ethiopian Jewry might not have happened. And the equation of Zionism to racism still would be a grotesque stain on the United Nations. Although much has changed for the better, the Middle East remains an area of high tensionsÑmany unrelated to the Arab-Israeli conflictÑwhere regional conflicts can escalate to threaten the vital interests of the United States. As Saddam Hussein's aggression against Kuwait demonstrated, heavily armed radical regimes are capable of independent aggressive action. In this environment, Israel's demonstrated strategic importance to the United States, as our most reliable and capable ally in this part of the world, is more important than ever. This strategic relationship, with its unique moral dimension, explains the understandable support Israel receives from millions of Americans who participate in our political process. The strong ties between the U.S. and Israel were demonstrated during the Gulf War when Israel chose not to retaliate against repeated missile attacks, even though they caused severe damage and loss of life. We will continue to broaden and deepen the strategic relationship with our ally IsraelÑthe only true democracy in the Middle EastÑby taking additional concrete steps to further institutionalize the partnership. This will include maintaining adequate levels of security and economic assistance; continuing our meetings on military, political and economic cooperation and coordination; prepositioning military equipment; developing joint contingency plans; and increasing joint naval and air exercises. Consistent with our strategic relationship, the United States should continue to provide large-scale security assistance to Israel, maintaining Israel's qualitative military advantage over any adversary or coalition of adversaries. We also will continue to negotiate with the major arms supplying nations to reach an agreement on limiting arms sales to the Middle East and preventing the proliferation of non-conventional weapons. We applaud the President's leadership in fostering unprecedented direct talks between Israel and its Arab neighbors. The United States is prepared to use its good offices to mediate disputes at their request. We do not believe the U.S. should attempt to impose a solution on the parties. The basis for negotiations must be U.N. Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338. Peace must come from direct negotiations. It will be up to the negotiators to determine exactly what is required to satisfy these resolutions, but we firmly believe Israel has a right to exist in secure and recognized borders. As President Bush stated in Madrid, our objective is not simply to end the state of war; rather, it is to establish real peace, one with treaties, security, diplomatic relations, trade, investment, cultural exchange, even tourism. We want the Middle East to become a place where people lead normal lives. A meaningful peace must assure Israel's security while recognizing the legitimate rights of thc Palestinian people. We oppose the creation of an independent Palestinian state. Nor will we support the creation of any political entity that would jeopardize Israel's security. As Israelis and Palestinians negotiate interim self-government, no party will be required to commit itself to any specific final outcome of direct negotiations. Israel should not be forced to negotiate with any party. In this regard, the United States will have no dialogue with the PLO until it satisfies in full the conditions laid out by President Bush in 1990. We believe Jerusalem should remain an undivided city, with free and unimpeded access to all holy places by people of all faiths. No genuine peace would deny Jews the right to live anywhere in the special city of Jerusalem. Peace in the Middle East entails cooperation between all the parties in the region. To this end, we have worked to bring all of the states of the area together with Israel to hold multilateral negotiations on issues of common concern such as regional development, water, refugees. arms control and the environment. We support these forums as a means of encouraging Arab acceptance of Israel and solving common regional problems. We continue to back legislation mandating that if the U.N. and its agencies were to deny Israel's right to participate, the United States would withhold financial support and withdraw from those bodies until their action was rectified. Republicans believe freedom of emigration is a fundamental human right and that Jews from any nation should be free to travel to Israel. Republicans are proud we have maintained our historic and moral commitment to the resettlement in Israel of persecuted Jews. We congratulate President Bush and Secretary Baker on the agreement with Israel for a generous package of loan guarantees that will provide new immigrants with needed humanitarian assistance. We also should maintain our close ties with and generous aid for Egypt, which properly reaps the benefits of its courageous peace with Israel. We continue to support Egypt and other pro-Western states in the region against subversion and aggression and call for an end to the Arab boycott of Israel. We also support establishment of a strong central government in Lebanon, democratically elected and representative of its citizens. We salute all the countries in the Middle East who contributed to the success of Desert Storm and share our goal of stability in the region. With them, we hope to build upon that triumph a new future for the Middle East, founded on mutual respect and a common longing for peace. To promote this goal, we should settle for nothing less than full, unconditional, immediate, and verified Iraqi compliance with all aspects of the cease-fire laid out in U.N. resolutions. In the Western Hemisphere, as elsewhere, we must promote democratic values. We u ill continue to seek cooperation in the common battle against the drug lords. We will also lower barriers to trade and investment, knowing that our exports to Latin America are helping to lead our economic recovery at home. The President's Enterprise for the Americas initiative and the North American Free Trade Agreement mean, for the United States, billions in new trade, hundreds of thousands of new jobs, and a long-term solution to the economic pressures behind illegal immigration. We welcome positive changes, economic and political, in Mexico, and salute the people of Panama on their recovery of free institutions after Operation Just Cause. We commend President Bush for the decisive military action that led to the end of the corrupt Noriega regime and freedom for democratically-minded Panamanians. We will uphold free and unencumbered US. access to the Canal. We hail the patriots of El Salvador and Nicaragua, whose bravery and blood thwarted Communism and Castro despite the inconstancy of Congressional Democrats. Together with other members of the Organization of American States, we will work to restore democracy to Haiti. The Monroe Doctrine remains a cardinal principle of our foreign policy, and we continue to strive toward the day when the alien ideology of Communism and Fidel Castro's regime will be purged from Cuba, and Americans can welcome the Cuban people back into the family of free nations. Toward that end, we support Radio and TV Marti and the spirit of Cuba Libre. In Asia, we remain committed to the spread of political and economic liberty. We will work with Japan for common progress and maintain our military presence in Japan and in Asia. We also will promote greater Japanese responsibility for self-defense and worldwide prosperity. We reaffirm our commitment to the security of Taiwan and regard any attempt to alter its status by force as a threat to the entire region. We adhere to the Taiwan Relations Act, the basis for continuing cooperation with those who have stood loyally with us for half a century. Our policy toward China is based on support for democratic reform. We need to maintain the relationship with China so that we can effectively encourage such reform. We will continue to work toward the day when the Chinese people will finally complete their journey to an open society, free of the deplorable restrictions on personal liberties that still exist. We will maintain our close relationship with the Republic of Korea, helping to deter aggression from the north. North Korea remains an outlaw state and must not be permitted to acquire nuclear weapons. With the people of the Philippines, we will maintain our special ties of history and affection. We support the movement in Cambodia toward peace and democracy. We demand thc fullest possible accounting for America's POWs and MlAs in Southeast Asia. Thc grief of their families touches all of us. We will seek complete information in all forums and from all sources. Our President has put the government of Vietnam on notice: improved relations depend upon this goal. In Africa, despite opposition from Congressional Democrats, we armed freedom fighters and helped force the withdrawal of Cuban troops. Now we enter the long season of building, trying to revive faith in democracy on a continent ravaged by Marxist wars, looted by local dictators, and misled by socialist ideology. Political and economic liberty are the keys. We will support responsible efforts by the international community to help end the anarchy in Somalia and to address the plight of the people of that country suffering from drought and starvation. We condemn those who are using armed force to impede food distribution. In South Africa, the Republican policy of constructive engagementÑ opposing apartheid while fostering peaceful changeÑ has been successful. That nation's prospects have been transformed for the better, though many difficulties lie ahead. We condemn all violence against the innocent and applaud those who seek reconciliation to create a new, democratic South Africa. We encourage economic reform as crucial to both security and prosperity in the new South Africa. We recognize that foreign aid must have a reasonable relationship to our national interests. We therefore support an ongoing review of such programs so that they can be both effectual and justified. We promote financial contribution from other democracies of the world to share the cost of the American burden for peacekeeping and foreign aid. We support efforts by private voluntary agencies to help meet the needs of countries newly liberated from communism, and of the developing world, in such areas as medical. agricultural, educational, and entrepreneurial assistance. OPENING THE WORLD TO AMERICAN BUSINESS. The triumph of democracy is also a victory for economic freedom. All the world over, people in search of a better life are rejecting politicians' control of their future. This will mean a broader horizon for American opportunity. The whole world has become our marketplace. The election of 1992 will determine whether our country seizes this tremendous opportunity or retreats from it. Republicans trust individuals and families to make their own economic decisions; Democrat politicians do not. We reject their program of strangled trade, industrial policy, high taxes, and regulation. We reject punitive taxes on foreign businesses in this country that only invite retaliatory taxes against U.S. businesses abroad. Trade war is thc road to international depressionÑand for keeping American workers dependent on government handouts. We do not want to replace the arms race with a subsidies race. Putting Americans first means keeping the national interest ahead of the special interests. It means opening the world to American goods within a system of free and expanding trade. Just as Ronald Reagan declared in Berlin, "Tear down this wall," so George Bush is dismantling the walls of protectionism in order to continue expanding our exports. Our strong commitment to free trade also encompasses vigorous enforcement of U.S. trade laws. We expect a fair and level playing field in our trade with other nations and will work to ensure that foreign markets arc just as open to our goods as U.S. markets are to theirs. In all negotiations concerning trade, we will put the interests of America first. Throughout the world, as here at home, the Republican Party stands for growth. America's families have nothing to fearÑand everything to gainÑ from thc new era of free enterprise and prosperity that will emerge as free people compete. excel, and progress. BANISHING THE NUCLEAR NIGHTMARE. The world has moved from the brink of disaster to the threshold of historic opportunity. For almost half a century, we lived under the shadow of nuclear destruction. Today, that specter is fading. We will not stop here. We will banish the threat of nuclear annihilation from the face of the earthÑnot by savaging our military, as some Democrats might insist, but by building on the historic diplomatic achievements of Presidents Bush and Reagan. This means assuring stable command and control of the former Soviet arsenal, complete acceptance and verified implementation of all treaty obligations by the successor states to the USSR, and achieving the additional 50 percent reduction in strategic forces now agreed upon. We must assist in dismantling weapons, transforming the massive Soviet war machine into an engine of peace and civilian revival. We will cooperate with our former adversaries both to curtail proliferation and to move beyond the ABM Treaty toward effective ballistic missile defenses. We will not permit the Soviet nuclear nightmare to be replaced by another one. Outlaw nationsÑNorth Korea, Iran, Iraq, Libya, and othersÑlust for weapons of mass destruction. This is the nightmare of proliferation: nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons that, together with ballistic missiles, can deliver death across whole continents, including our own. We will renew and strengthen the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. We will design security policies to counter proliferation dangers. We will reinforce multilateral accords like the Missile Technology Control Regime. And most important, we will develop and deploy global defenses against ballistic missiles. Despite the opposition of the Democrat Party and congressional Democrats, we will deploy an effective strategic defense system for the American people.