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Ross Perot on Foreign Policy
1992 & 1996 Reform Party Nominee for President
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Aiding Russia is the most cost-effective thing we can do
His commonsense approach to the debt ("like the crazy aunt tucked away in the room upstairs nobody talks about"), taxing the wealthy ("makes no sense for me to pay less of a percentage of my income that other people"), and aid to Russia to help
them past their economic crisis ("the most cost-effective thing you can do"), rang true in a season of sour, false notes. He promised a coalition government, using the best minds of both parties. He said he would "get a shovel and clean out the barn."
Source: The Man Behind the Myth, by Ken Gross, p.202-203
, Sep 20, 2000
Great nations should commit more abroad
People and nations do not follow weak leaders. Sounding an uncertain trumpet on political and economic matters does not galvanize or inspire followers. The reasons we have failed in this regard are political and economic. The political reasons
include: - We lack courage and consistency on too many international fronts.
- We have failed to pay the more than $1.4 billion we owe the United Nations.
- We are dead last when compared with the Western European nations and Japan in the percentage
of our national income that goes for foreign economic assistance.
- We have asked other nations to contribute troops to United Nations peacekeeping efforts, but we have contributed few ourselves. (Jordan and Nepal are ahead of us!)
The economic
reasons can be boiled down to one phrase: failure to address our financial problems-particularly our budget deficit. To lead the world toward greater stability and away from the threats of war, the US must show both political and economic strength.
Source: The Dollar Crisis, p. 48-49
, Jul 2, 1996
Pay attention to developing nations
40% of our exports are sent to lesser-developed countries. For both economic and political reasons, we should be paying more attention to these nations. The political reason is that the great threat to the world is no longer nuclear annihilation but
instability that can spill over from one nation to many nations. One way of encouraging stability is to meet the needs and hopes of people without violence. (The same is true within our own nation.) Trade is a way of helping to do that. Foreign aid is
another. After being the world leader, the US now spends less as a percentage of its income on foreign economic assistance than any of he Western European nations or Japan. We spend less than 1% of our federal budget on foreign aid. Paying attention
to the developing nations and their markets that will grow rapidly in the decades ahead is good for our economy and good for world stability.
Source: The Dollar Crisis, p.107-108
, Jul 2, 1996
NAFTA yields US sovereignty to international organizations
NAFTA is a very, very broad commitment on the part of the US. Not only will the US be bound to change its federal laws that conflict with NAFTA, but it will also make a commitment to see that any state laws that conflict with NAFTA are changed. Many
existing laws and regulations at all levels of government will be superseded by NAFTA. Equally important, NAFTA gives Mexico and Canada the right to challenge the legality of our federal, state, and local laws as illegal trade barriers. Any challenge
will be considered in secret by a panel of international trade bureaucrats. There is no appeal process involving the US justice system. The third branch of US government, the judiciary, and the American right to due process have been negotiated away.
If the US loses a decision before this board of international arbitrators, the US is obligated to change its laws or pay a penalty to the other nations. The impact of this provision on US sovereignty is neither trivial nor far-fetched.
Source: Save Your Job, Save Our Country, p. 77-8
, Jan 1, 1993
Less aid to allies; more aid to Russia
Perot has stated in a rather straightforward fashion that he favors:- Ending all military subsidies to Europe and Pacific Rim nations;
- stepping up aid to the nations of the former Soviet Union.
Source: Strong-Man Politics, by George Grant, p. 88
, Nov 7, 1992
Gulf War did not achieve its objectives
I suggest that in a free society owned by the people, the people ought to know what we told Ambassador
Glaspie to tell Saddam Hussein, because we spent a lot of money and risked lives and lost lives in that effort, and did not accomplish most of our objectives.
Source: The Third Clinton-Bush-Perot Presidential Debate
, Oct 19, 1992
Russia: reduce nukes; contain imperialism; send aid
The breakup of the Soviet empire is fraught with risks: nationalism and ethnic strife; potential for nuclear mischief; and a real danger that reform will fail My policy would be to work both unilaterally and closely with the Europeans, the Japanese,
and collective agencies like the US to: - Put nuclear warheads out of commission wherever they are.
- Contain any imperialistic tendencies harbored by any of the former Soviet territories. Our negotiators continue to concentrate on missile delivery
systems, a vestige of Cold War arms control. The warheads are the primary threat. We cannot rest until all warheads in the former Soviet Union are accounted for and under control.
- Send appropriate aid, technology, support personnel, and other items to
build a bulwark for liberty. Make sure the channels are established to administer our help effectively, instead of allowing it to be wasted by state enterprises or poorly conceived projects.
Source: United We Stand, by Ross Perot, p.104
, Jul 2, 1992
Page last updated: Apr 27, 2013
