US Foreign Policy Based on Partnership not Dominance

The US chapter of the international peace organization, Transcend, recently hosted a workshop in Richmond, Californina where activists, mediators and community leaders brainstormed to formulate the seeds of an alternative U.S. foreign policy based on partnership rather than dominance regarding Iraq, East Asia, Mexico, and the United Nations.

Richmond, CA (PRWEB) November 15, 2006 -- Peace activists, mediators and community leaders meeting in Richmond, California on November 4, 2006, recognizing the interdependence of all people and nations on the Earth, worked to draft an alternative U.S. foreign policy to move the United States into collaborative partnership with the rest of the world. Transcend USA, which is part of an international network for peaceful conflict transformation, organized the workshop on "Partnership not Dominance: U.S. Foreign Policy in the Age of Globalization." Johan Galtung facilitated.

A key element of the Transcend method is to identify the legitimate goals of parties in conflict through empathic dialogue, and find creative ways to meet all parties' goals. Goals are deemed legitimate if they affirm human rights and serve to meet basic human needs. Legitimate goals are reciprocal, i.e., whatever one party wants it should be willing to grant to other parties as well. The level of human suffering and unmet basic needs in any given region or society is the measure of a policy's success. By this criteria, the current U.S. foreign policy in Iraq and elsewhere is failing.

Combining Transcend principles with values of democracy, equality and fairness upon which the U.S. was founded, participants at the workshop crafted an alternative U.S. foreign policy based on partnership not dominance. Specific suggestions were made in four areas: Iraq, East Asia, Mexico and the United Nations.

As a global partner, the U.S. 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 U.S. should listen to and respect the will of people at home and abroad. In order to promote liberty and justice for all, the U.S. should acknowledge its role in current and past human rights violations and commit to participating in fair and equitable reparations.

Specific U.S. policy goals for Iraq should include:
--acknowledge the U.S. role in the illegal invasion and occupation, resulting in suffering and destruction
--abide by the expressed wishes of the Iraqi people to remove the U.S. military presence, including troops and military bases
--ask Iraqis at all levels of society what they want the U.S. to do to support their own efforts to rebuild their country
--offer to engage in reparative, equitable economic trade
--support constructive dialogue and collaboration among Iraq and its neighbors throughout the region

Specific U.S. policy goals for East Asia should include:
--step back from East Asian discussions as a dominant player, remaining available as a resource upon request
--ask the states in the region what assistance, if any, they might want from the U.S., and honor their wishes about the presence or removal of U.S. military bases in their countries
--acknowledge the U.S. role in massive civilian death and suffering caused by its use of nuclear weapons in Hiroshima and Nagasaki
--commit the U.S. to dismantling its entire nuclear arsenal if other countries, including North Korea, will agree to eliminate their nuclear weapons programs

Specific U.S. 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-evaluate NAFTA with an aim to eliminate the suffering it has caused on both sides of the border
--acknowledge the U.S. role in taking vast territories from Mexico in 1848
--offer to join Mexico in collectively acknowledging what has been done to indigenous peoples in North America and explore possibilities for reparations

Specific U.S. policy goals for the United Nations should include:
--ensure that membership of the Security Council is representative of the world's population and abolish the veto power by any one member
--advocate for lifting Article 12a so that the General Assembly can take action on topics under discussion in the Security Council
--develop a stronger UN commitment to peaceful conflict resolution
--incorporate a provision in the UN Charter that it be evaluated periodically, with the frequency of reviews depending on articles and circumstances.

For more information on the Transcend Network for Peaceful Conflict Transformation, see www.transcend.org

For more information on Transcend USA, contact Marilyn Langlois
510-232-4493, langlois-rine "at" comcast.net

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