Natalie Gonnella
In response to the death of Osama bin Laden, in a post via NRO's The Corner today, former Pennsylvania Senator and possible 2012 contender Rick Santorum outlined his ten key aims for "restor[ing] American greatness."
Adapted from a recent speech given at the National Press Club challenging President Obama's predilection for "leading from behind," here's a quick look at Santorum's key ideas for "resetting America's course":
1. We need to begin by seeing the world the way it truly is. We need to see evil for what it is, and confront it; and we need to see decency for what it is and nurture it.
2. We need to understand we are in a war, a hot war as well as a war of ideas. Failing to define our foes lest we be politically incorrect does not dissuade them from seeking our destruction.
3. We need a reinvigorated human-intelligence apparatus in the Middle East so we can better understand who and where are enemies are and then identify opportunities to counteract them and support allies and would-be allies.
4. We need to change our information operations abroad to promote our core values of freedom, equality, and democracy — just as we did with the Soviet Empire in the 1980s.
5. We must cease our verbal, moral, and diplomatic equivalence as between good and evil. Syria does not deserve an ambassador; its protesters deserve support; Israeli housing starts should not be put on the same moral plane as Hamas terror attacks; and China should be challenged on religious liberty rather than be given a veto on the human-rights activists we wish support.
6. Having supported popular sovereignty abroad, we have erred in failing to sufficiently support the conditions of liberty and the institutions necessary for a successful democracy.
7. We need to keep and expand our commitment to humanitarian aid, especially in Africa. China and Islam are competing for the hearts and minds of much of Africa, and we cannot turn our back from the investment and commitments we have made.
8. We must stand by Israel, especially at a time when it appears increasingly to be standing alone. The recent dislocation of the old order in the Middle East will usher in a new one , and anti-Israeli elements are working overtime to take advantage of the opportunity.
9. The tradition of speaking up and out about prisoners of conscience and dissidents in prison, never mind American hostages, from the Middle East to Asia, needs to be restored. When President Reagan instituted the policy of reminding the world and America that there were others in jails because of their beliefs it not only reminded us of our blessings, it gave dissidents a sense of hope, and the knowledge that someone cared about them, that a great country was on their side.
10. We need to have a national effort to restore the teaching of American history in our nation’s schools. It is our children’s worst subject — they simply do not know their own story and thus when they are told ours is a history of aggression and immorality, they have no counter-narrative to refute it.
Santorum's full post is available to view here.
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