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Sam Brownback on Foreign Policy

Republican Sr Senator (KS)


Stand up in the face of genocide in Darfur

Q: [to Rep. Paul]: Does the US have a role to play in ending the genocide in Darfur?

PAUL: The US government has no authority. There’s no constitutional authority. There’s no moral authority. There’s plenty of moral authority and responsibility for individuals to participate. But every time we get involved, we’re getting involved in a civil war. Even when you send food, it ends up in the hands of the military and they use it as weapons.

BROWNBACK: I couldn’t disagree more with that last answer. We are the greatest nation on the face of the Earth, and we are ones that can stand up. And we need to stand up in the face of second genocide when we had declared years ago in Rwanda: Never again. And what is happening? It is happening again. And it’s not just the first genocide that’s taken place in Sudan, it’s the second. We need to divestiture campaigns. We need to support the African Union troops there. We don’t need to put our own troops. We need to provide food and medicine as well.

Source: 2007 GOP Presidential Forum at Morgan State University Sep 27, 2007

Monitor the eradication of legal slavery in Sudan

Q: I was made a slave during the government of Sudan’s war against black Christians of southern Sudan. I am a slave no longer, but today want to free tens of thousands of my brothers and sisters who remain in chattel slavery in Sudan. Would you today endorse the creation of a commission to monitor the eradication of slavery in Sudan, where the slavery of a man is legal?
Source: [Xref Paul] 2007 GOP Values Voter Presidential Debate Sep 17, 2007

Avoid ratifying Law of the Sea Treaty

Q: Pres. Reagan rejected the Law of the Sea Treaty, because it gives International Seabed Authority dictatorial power to regulate all oceans and the riches at the bottom of the oceans, plus the power the levy international taxes, and it would make the US subject to the decisions of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea. Would you urge the Senate not to ratify this treaty?
Source: [Xref Keyes] 2007 GOP Values Voter Presidential Debate Sep 17, 2007

Be realistic about pushing democracy, or we get radicals

Words of a president matter. When Ronald Reagan says, “Mr. Gorbachev, bring down this wall,” that mattered. When he called the Soviet Union an evil empire, that mattered. Words of our leader matter, and you have to matter within the context of where we are. We are in a generational conflict with militant Islamists. That’s where we are. We are at war. We’re a nation at war. I think we have to be very realistic about this war. We have a number of allies in the Islamic world. We have a number of allies around the world. It is something important what we say and the direction we go. I think we push democracy, but I think we have to be realistic in the places that we push and at the time we push it. You push democracy in Pakistan or Egypt right now, you’re going to get a radicalized government in Pakistan, a radicalized government in Egypt and you’re going to have a nuclear-weaponed, radical government in Pakistan.
Source: 2007 GOP Iowa Straw Poll debate Aug 5, 2007

Passed the Sudan Peace Act to end civil war and slavery

After a 1997 trip to Sudan, I worked to pass the Sudan Peace Act. The legislation was an effort of carrots and sticks to push the Sudanese government to stop attacking the southern region of the country. It sent a special emissary from the US to Sudan, to try to negotiate an end to the civil war.

The entire issue captured me. It seemed impossible that something so ugly could still be going on in the world, but it was going on. The Sudan Peace Act was passed by Congress on Sept. 6, 2001.

Source: From Power to Purpose, by Sam Brownback, p.127-130 Jul 3, 2007

Talk directly to Iran; but confront them also

Q: Should the US be talking directly to Iran right now?

A: I think in the sense that we talked to them before we went into Afghanistan, but not with diplomatic arrangements, I think that could be useful, as recognized in the Iraq Study Group report and proposal. I think it will be rejected by the Iranians, and I think more of what we have to do is confront them. Confront them economically, confront them multilaterally with the Europeans, confront some of their weaknesses -- they import 40% of their refined fuel products. There are some vulnerabilities that are there -- and put more pressure on them the way they have been putting a great deal of pressure and difficulty on us in that region of the world.

Source: CNN Late Edition: 2007 presidential series with Wolf Blitzer Feb 25, 2007

Voted YES on cooperating with India as a nuclear power.

Congressional Summary:US-India Nuclear Cooperation Approval and Nonproliferation Enhancement Act:

Proponent's argument to vote Yes:Rep. HOWARD BERMAN (D, CA-28): Integrating India into a global nonproliferation regime is a positive step. Before anyone gets too sanctimonious about India's nuclear weapons program, we should acknowledge that the five recognized nuclear weapons states have not done nearly enough to fulfill their commitments under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, including making serious reductions in their own arsenals, nor in the case of the US in ratifying the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.

Opponent's argument to vote No:Rep. BARBARA LEE (D, CA-9): In withholding my approval, I seek not to penalize the people of India but, rather, to affirm the principle of nuclear nonproliferation. Jettisoning adherence to the international nuclear nonproliferation framework that has served the world so well for more than 30 years, as approval of the agreement before us would do, is just simply unwise. It is also reckless.

Approval of this agreement undermines our efforts to dissuade countries like Iran and North Korea from developing nuclear weapons. By approving this agreement, all we are doing is creating incentives for other countries to withdraw from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.

Reference: US-India Nuclear Agreement; Bill HR.7081 ; vote number 2008-S211 on Oct 1, 2008

Voted YES on enlarging NATO to include Eastern Europe.

H.R. 3167; Gerald B. H. Solomon Freedom Consolidation Act of 2001, To endorse the vision of further enlargement of the NATO Alliance. Vote to pass a bill that would support further expansion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, authorize military assistance to several eastern European countries and lift assistance restrictions on Slovakia.
Reference: Bill HR.3167 ; vote number 2002-116 on May 17, 2002

Voted YES on killing a bill for trade sanctions if China sells weapons.

Vote to table [kill] an amendment that would require sanctions against China or other countries if they were found to be selling illicit weapons of mass destruction.
Reference: Bill HR.4444 ; vote number 2000-242 on Sep 13, 2000

Voted YES on cap foreign aid at only $12.7 billion.

Adoption of the conference report on the 2000 Foreign Operations Appropriations Bill provided $12.7 billion for foreign aid programs in 2000.
Status: Conf Rpt Agreed to Y)51; N)49
Reference: H.R. 2606 Conference Report; Bill H.R. 2606 ; vote number 1999-312 on Oct 6, 1999

Voted NO on limiting the President's power to impose economic sanctions.

To kill a proposal limiting President Clinton's ability to impose economic sanctions on foreign nations.
Status: Motion to Table Agreed to Y)53; N)46; NV)1
Reference: Motion to table the Lugar Amdt #3156.; Bill S. 2159 ; vote number 1998-201 on Jul 15, 1998

Voted NO on limiting NATO expansion to only Poland, Hungary & Czech.

This amendment would have limited NATO Expansion to only include Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic.
Status: Amdt Rejected Y)41; N)59
Reference: NATO Expansion limit-Warner Amdt. #2322; Bill NATO Expansion Treaty #105-36 ; vote number 1998-112 on Apr 30, 1998

Voted YES on $17.9 billion to IMF.

Would provide $17.9 billion for the International Monetary Fund.
Status: Amdt Agreed to Y)84; N)16
Reference: McConnell Amdt #2100; Bill S. 1768 ; vote number 1998-44 on Mar 26, 1998

Monitor human rights in Uganda-Sudan crisis.

Brownback sponsored the Northern Uganda Crisis Response Act

    Expresses the sense of Congress that the United States should:
  1. support efforts for a peaceful resolution of the conflict in northern and eastern Uganda;
  2. work with the Government of Uganda and the international community to make available sufficient resources to meet the relief and development needs of the towns and cities that are supporting large numbers of displaced people;
  3. urge the leaders and members of the Lord's Resistance Army to stop the abduction of children, and urge all armed forces in Uganda to stop the use of child soldiers, and seek the release of all individuals who have been abducted;
  4. urge the Government of Uganda to improve the professionalism of Ugandan military personnel currently stationed in northern and eastern Uganda, with an emphasis on respect for human rights and civilian protection;
  5. work with the international community to assist and increase the capacity of Ugandan civil institutions to monitor the human rights situation in northern Uganda;
  6. make clear that the relationship between Sudan and the United States cannot improve unless no credible evidence indicates that authorities of the Government of Sudan are providing support to the Lord's Resistance Army.
Became Public Law No: 108-283.
Source: Bill sponsored by 9 Senators 04-S2264 on Mar 31, 2004

Sponsored aid bill to avert humanitarian crisis in Congo.

Brownback introduced increasing aid to avert humanitarian crisis in Congo

OFFICIAL CONGRESSIONAL SUMMARY:

SPONSOR'S INTRODUCTORY REMARKS: Sen. OBAMA: There is a country embroiled in conflict that has not yet received the high-level attention or resources it needs. It's the Democratic Republic of Congo, and right now it is in the midst of a humanitarian catastrophe.

31,000 people are dying in the Congo each month and 3.8 million people have died in the previous 6 years. The country, which is the size of Western Europe, lies at the geographic heart of Africa and borders every major region across the continent. If left untended, Congo's tragedy will continue to infect Africa.

I believe that the United States can make a profound difference in this crisis. According to international aid agencies, there are innumerable cost-effective interventions that could be quickly undertaken--such as the provision of basic medical care, immunization and clean water--that could save thousands of lives. On the political front, sustained U.S. leadership could fill a perilous vacuum.

EXCERPTS OF BILL:

LEGISLATIVE OUTCOME:Became Public Law No. 109-456

Source: Congo Relief, Security, and Democracy Promotion Act (S.2125) 05-S2125 on Dec 16, 2005

Co-chair of the Silk Road Congressional Caucus.

Brownback is the chair the Silk Road Congressional Caucus

The Silk Road refers to the ancient trade route through Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan first explored by Marco Polo. The hope for the Silk Road Caucus is to help connect Central and South Asia and the Caucasus with the US, in an effort to encourage economic, cultural, and political exchange between our countries.

Countries of the Silk Road are seeking a well-conceived and proactive policy of engagement, which authorizes U.S. assistance to support their economic and political independence. After decades of Communist rule, these countries have faced a tough road toward economic development and prosperity, and the cultivation of a democratic society. It is important for Congress to provide and guide increased aid to support conflict resolution, humanitarian relief, economic and democratic reform, and respect for human rights in the region.

It is clear that the U.S. can no longer abide by its current policy toward the region--one that emphasizes a stand back and watch approach. Economic prosperity, the growth of democracy, and the establishment of the rule of law in the Silk Road states is essential for regional stability and US national security. The US must actively engage this region--both economically and politically.

Source: Silk Road Caucus website 07-SRC0 on Nov 6, 2007

Implement Darfur Peace Agreement with UN peacekeeping force.

Brownback co-sponsored implementing Darfur Peace Agreement with UN peacekeeping force

Source: S.RES.455 08-SR455 on Feb 14, 2008

Acknowledge the Armenian Genocide of the early 1900s.

Brownback co-sponsored acknowledging the Armenian Genocide of the early 1900s

Sen. DURBIN: The definition of "genocide" is "the deliberate and systematic extermination of a national, racial, political, or cultural group." Scholars agree that what the Armenian people suffered in 1915 to 1917 fits the definition of genocide. To date, 19 countries and 37 US states recognize the Armenian Genocide. Genocide is wrong. It is evil. It is evil whether its victims are Armenians, Sudanese, Rwandan Tutsis, Cambodians or European Jews. Not to acknowledge genocide for what it is denigrates the memory of its victims. Recognition of genocide is part of the healing process. Official recognition will reaffirm our tradition of protecting the vulnerable and inspire us to not stand by and watch as genocide occurs in our time.
Source: Armenian Genocide Resolution (S.RES.106/H.RES.106) 2007-SR106 on Mar 14, 2007

Support Iranian demonstrators against Iranian government.

Brownback signed bill supporting demonstrations against Iran

Source: SR.193&HR.549 2009-SR193 on Jun 19, 2009

Condemn Iran for state-sponsored persecution of Baha'i.

Brownback signed bill condemning Iran for persecution of Baha'i

    Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the Senate and House of Representatives
  1. condemns the Government of Iran for its state-sponsored persecution of its Baha'i minority and its continued violation of the International Covenants on Human Rights;
  2. calls on the Government of Iran to immediately release the seven leaders and all other prisoners held solely on account of their religion; and
  3. calls on the President and Secretary of State, in cooperation with the international community, to immediately condemn Iran's continued violation of human rights.
    Source: SR71&HR175 2009-SR71 on Feb 13, 2009

    Other candidates on Foreign Policy: Sam Brownback on other issues:
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    Libertarian: Rep.Bob Barr
    Constitution: Amb.Alan Keyes
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    Page last updated: Feb 08, 2010