Energy Consultant Michael J. Economides: Chavez Bigger Threat To U.S. Energy Security Than Saddam Hussein Ever Was. “We are on a collision course with Chávez over oil … Chávez poses a much bigger threat to America’s energy security than Saddam Hussein ever did.” (Simon Romero and Clifford Krauss, “High Stakes: Chávez Plays The Oil Card,” The New York Times, 4/10/07)
Chavez Currently Spearheading Government Takeover Of Oil Field So Large “It Could Give The Country More Reserves Than Saudi Arabia.” “Mr. Chávez recently decreed that Venezuela would take control of heavy oil fields in the Orinoco Belt, a region southeast of Caracas of so much potential that some experts say it could give the country more reserves than Saudi Arabia. The United States Geological Survey describes the area as the ‘largest single hydrocarbon accumulation in the world,’ making it highly coveted despite Mr. Chávez’s erratic policies.” (Simon Romero and Clifford Krauss, “High Stakes: Chávez Plays The Oil Card,” The New York Times, 4/10/07)
GENERAL ISSUES
April 2007: Romney Echoed John Kerry’s Past Calls For International “Summit” On Islamic World
Romney Said One Of His First Acts As President Would Be “Summit Of Nations” On State Of Islamic World. “As one of my first acts as President, I would call for a Summit of Nations. In addition to the United States, the convening countries would include moderate Islamic states and other leading developed nations. The objective of the Summit would be to create a worldwide strategy to support Muslim nations and peoples, in their
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effort to defeat radical, violent Jihad.” (Mitt Romney, Remarks At George Bush Presidential Library Center, College Station, TX, 4/10/07)
John Kerry In 2003: “I Will Immediately Convene A Summit” To Discuss “A Long-Term Strategy To Build Bridges To The Islamic World.” “As president, I will work aggressively to rebuild the relationships frayed and shredded by the Bush administration, particularly with our NATO allies. I will immediately convene a summit with European and world leaders to discuss a common anti- terrorism agenda, including a collective security framework and a long-term strategy to build bridges to the Islamic world.” (Sen. John Kerry, Remarks To Council On Foreign Relations, New York, NY, 12/3/03)
Kerry: “I know I can do a better job in Iraq, where I have a plan to have a summit with all of the allies, something this President has not yet achieved, not yet been able to do to bring people to the table.” (Sen. John Kerry, Presidential Debate, Coral Gables, FL, 10/1/04)
Kerry: “I’m going to hold that summit. I will bring fresh credibility, a new start, and we will get the job done right.” (Sen. John Kerry, Presidential Debate, Coral Gables, FL, 10/1/04)
Kerry: “The President should convene a summit meeting of the world’s major powers and Iraq’s neighbors, this week, in New York, where many leaders will attend the U.N. General Assembly.” (Sen. John Kerry, Remarks In New York, NY, 9/20/04)
Kerry: “What we need now is a President who understands how to bring these other countries together to recognize their stakes in this. … But this President hasn’t even held the kind of statesman-like summits that pull people together and get them to invest in those stakes.” (Sen. John Kerry, Presidential Debate, Coral Gables, FL, 10/1/04)
April 2007: Romney Called For Nuclear Trafficking Initiative That Resembled Proposal By Liberal Princeton Scholar
Romney Wants To Appoint Ambassador At-Large For Nuclear Proliferation. “Republican Mitt Romney would appoint an ambassador-at-large to prevent nuclear terror if elected president, arguing that avoiding a terrorist attack with unsecured nuclear weapons should take on heightened urgency in the United States. The Republican candidate … says such a person would have the authority and resources to cross agency and departmental boundaries, ensuring nonproliferation strategies are coordinated at home and abroad.” (Glen Johnson, “Romney Favors Ambassador To Deter Nukes,” The Associated Press, 4/25/07)
Romney Would Push International Effort To Make Nuclear Trafficking “A Crime Against Humanity, On A Par With Genocide And War Crimes.” “Further, I would promote an international initiative to develop a new body of international law that would make nuclear trafficking a crime against humanity, on a par with genocide and war crimes,’ according to a text of Romney’s remarks provided to The Associated Press. ‘By allowing for universal jurisdiction, charges can be brought up in any court preventing traffickers from hiding in complicit or weak countries.’” (Glen Johnson, “Romney Favors Ambassador To Deter Nukes,” The Associated Press, 4/25/07)
Princeton Graduate School Dean Anne-Marie Slaughter, In March 3 Op-Ed: Nuclear Trafficking Is “Crime Against Humanity” That “Merits A Place … Alongside Genocide And Other Evils.” “[W]e should make the illegal transfer of nuclear materials a crime against humanity triable by international tribunals and by national courts in every country … Making nuclear transfer a crime against humanity captures the enormity of the offense and would dramatically increase the cost of getting caught. Nuclear transfer threatens the lives of millions of people. It merits a place in infamy alongside genocide and other evils.” (Anne-Marie Slaughter and Thomas Wright, Op-Ed,
“Punishment to Fit the Nuclear Crime,” The Washington Post, 3/2/07)
Speculation Exists That Slaughter “Could Become Secretary Of State In A Democratic Administration.” “In a recent speech in San Diego, retired Adm. Bobby Inman said President Vladimir Putin seized control of the Yukos oil firm not just because its owner engaged in politics, but because Putin wanted the Russian state to control the energy industry. … Also speaking was Anne-Marie Slaughter, a Princeton dean, who some say could become secretary of state in a Democratic administration.” (David Gaddis Smith,
“Russia Superpower Status Linked To Oil, Ex-CIA Official Says,” The San Diego Union-Tribune, 3/4/07)
Slaughter Donated $1500 To Barack Obama’s Presidential Campaign In March 2007. “Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama, a graduate of Columbia and Harvard Law School, is thus far the most popular candidate for donations from University employees. … Obama received $2,250 from a total of
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four contributors, including Dean of the Wilson School Anne-Marie Slaughter ‘80, who donated $1,500 in late March…” (Angela Cai, “Obama Has Most Faculty Donations,” The Daily Princetonian, 4/20/07)
Slaughter Has Recommended Setting Withdrawal Deadline In Iraq. “Slaughter recommended setting a withdrawal deadline – perhaps the end of 2008, as Democratic candidate Barack Obama has suggested, to spur Iraqis to ‘end this civil war.’” (Cris Barrish, “Biden Supports Three-Part Iraq Split,” The News Journal [Wilmington, DE], 3/4/07)
Romney: “By allowing for universal jurisdiction, charges can be brought up in any court preventing traffickers from hiding in complicit or weak countries.” (Glen Johnson, “Romney Favors Ambassador To Deter Nukes,” The Associated Press, 4/25/07)
Slaughter: “[A]s a matter of international law, crimes against humanity are subject to universal jurisdiction.
That means that any nation, including the United States, could prosecute nuclear traders anywhere in the world. … Failing states would no longer provide safe haven for rogue individuals.” (Anne-Marie Slaughter and Thomas Wright, Op-Ed, “Punishment to Fit the Nuclear Crime,” The Washington Post, 3/2/07)
Romney: “Romney says the acts of black marketeers trying to sell so-called loose nukes ‘should not be dismissed with the kind of nonchalance that accompanies routine violations of the law.’” (Glen Johnson, “Romney Favors Ambassador To Deter Nukes,” The Associated Press, 4/25/07)
Slaughter: “Creating a nuclear transfer taboo would strip away feigned protestations of innocence and illusions of a victimless crime. It would stigmatize black-market financiers and other facilitators of nuclear transfers as the ultimate merchants of death.” (Anne-Marie Slaughter and Thomas Wright, Op-Ed, “Punishment to Fit the Nuclear Crime,” The Washington Post, 3/2/07)
In 1994, Romney Changed His Mind On Military Intervention In Haiti, First Saying It Should Be Option Then Declaring Total Opposition
July 1994: Romney Said Military Option In Haiti Should Be On The Table If Diplomacy Failed. “Republican US Senate candidate Mitt Romney, who is now attacking Sen. Edward M. Kennedy for supporting an invasion of Haiti, said two months ago he ‘would not take it off the table’ as an option for restoring democracy there. Speaking at a July 12 reporters’ breakfast in Washington, Romney said, ‘I favor a multilateral approach to Haiti, and I would not take off the table any of the options’ including military action. ‘I don’t believe that our first option by any means should be military. I believe that we should offer diplomatic solutions prior to those. But if nothing worked . . . the other course would be military,’ Romney said.” (Peter Howe, “Invasion ‘Option’ Cited By Romney,” The Boston Globe, 9/18/94)
September 1994: Romney Declared Total Opposition To Military Action In Haiti. “Accusing US Sen. Edward M. Kennedy of ducking the issue, Republican US Senate hopeful Mitt Romney yesterday declared his opposition to an invasion of Haiti and called on Kennedy to make his own position clear. … Romney said he was opposed to an invasion because he felt that no ‘substantial US interest like our national security, the safety of our citizens or the security of our economy’ is at stake.” (Scot Lehigh, “Romney Assails Kennedy On Haiti,” The Boston Globe, 9/17/94)
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