Huckabee departs slightly from GOP views on war

WASHINGTON - It's not unusual to hear a presidential candidate speak passionately about the need to do better diplomacy, to make military action a last-ditch option, and to talk with hostile or undemocratic nations.

It's a little less common to hear those words spoken by a Republican contender, as Mike Huckabee, former Arkansas governor, did today.

In a well-received address at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Huckabee bemoaned the lack of dialogue and knowledge of foreign nations that he said has accelerated the foreign policy troubles the United States faces.

"We haven't had diplomatic relations with Iran for almost 30 years . . . and a lot of good it's done," Huckabee said. In Iraq, the former governor contended, US officials were out of touch with what was happening on the ground and were relying on flawed information from Iraqi exiles before making the historic decision to go to war. Instead, the United States needs to shore up its diplomatic efforts and intelligence-gathering, he said.

"Before we put boots on the ground in the future, we better have wing-tips there first," Huckabee said.

The GOP candidate did stick to the view of nearly all of his fellow Republican primary opponents in saying that the United States should not yet leave Iraq, contending a departure now would cause "chaos" in the country.

SUSAN MILLIGAN

Barack Obama yesterday welcomed first-year students to Howard University, the historically black college in Washington, urging them to continue the civil rights work their forebears started.

Obama connected civil rights struggles of the present - including the "Jena 6" case involving six black teenagers in Jena, La. - with civil rights struggles of the past, like the integration of Little Rock Central High School a half-century ago.

He used the biblical story of Moses and Joshua to make his point - Moses led his people toward the Promised Land, but Joshua had to finish the job.

"Be strong and have courage in the face of injustice," Obama said, according to prepared remarks. "Be strong and have courage in the face of prejudice and hatred. Be strong and have courage in the face of joblessness and helplessness and hopelessness. Be strong and have courage in the face of our doubts and fears, in the face of skepticism, in the face of cynicism, in the face of a mighty river."

SCOTT HELMAN

ATLANTA - Newt Gingrich, former House speaker, has given himself a deadline of Oct. 21 to raise $30 million for a possible presidential bid, saying the task is difficult but not impossible.

"It's improbable, but either there's a citizen desire for a citizen candidate, or there isn't," he said in an interview Thursday.

ASSOCIATED PRESS