Huckabee criticized on foreign policy statements
CONCORD, N.H. - Shortly before Mike Huckabee emerged as a leading presidential contender, he delivered a littlenoticed foreign policy speech in which he urged consideration of restoring diplomatic relations with Iran. It is a view that now stands as a significant difference from some of his GOP opponents at a time when Huckabee's foreign policy credentials have become a central issue in the campaign.
As the former governor of Arkansas, Huckabee has had little direct experience in foreign affairs or national security, which some analysts believe will be a decisive factor in selecting a Republican nominee. In recent days, he has stumbled when addressing some foreign policy questions. At least two people named by Huckabee as his advisers said they have not talked with him. He has been criticized by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice for making "ludicrous" foreign policy statements.
The position of the Republicans on Iran has been a central issue in the campaign for months. When the Republican candidates were asked in December by CBS News to say which country frightens them the most, all said Iran. None suggested normalizing relations.
But three months earlier, in a speech on Sept. 28 to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Huckabee strongly suggested putting the United States on a track toward normalizing diplomatic relations with Iran, while not ruling out using military force if necessary. He also criticized President Bush for naming Iran as part of the "axis of evil."
"We haven't had diplomatic relations with Iran in almost 30 years, my whole adult life," Huckabee said. "A lot of good it's done us. Putting this in human terms, all of us know that when we stop talking to a parent or a sibling or a friend, it's impossible to accomplish anything, impossible to resolve differences and move the relationship forward. The same is true for countries."
Huckabee's comment drew scorn from one of the people he has named as a foreign policy adviser, Frank Gaffney, president of the conservative think tank Center for Security Policy. Gaffney, who could not be reached for comment yesterday, said in a December interview with radio talk show host Hugh Hewitt that Huckabee's comments about Iran were "cockamamie."
"I tried to educate him . . . that this is a country run by megalomaniacs bent on an apocalyptic outcome, who believe that bringing about a world without America is their god-given obligation. [This is] not a prescription for a serious foreign policy, I'm afraid," Gaffney told Hewitt of his discussion with Huckabee. Hewitt is the author of a book about the candidacy of former governor Mitt Romney of Massachusetts.
The criticism from Gaffney focused new attention on whom Huckabee is relying for foreign policy advice. Huckabee told reporters in Iowa recently that he was being advised by John Bolton, the former US ambassador to the United Nations. But Bolton has said he never talked with Huckabee. Huckabee then said he had sent an e-mail to Bolton.
Several candidates aside from Huckabee have modest foreign policy credentials, including Romney, who said last week that it is not necessary to be an expert in foreign policy in order to be president. Other candidates, such as Senator John McCain, the Arizona Republican, have touted their experience in dealing with world leaders as part of the rationale for their candidacy.
While Huckabee struggles to address questions about his foreign policy in the hothouse of the closing days of his campaign, the clearest perspective may come from his writings and speeches on the subject over the last year.
In his campaign manifesto, From Hope to Higher Ground, Huckabee does not provide any evidence that he has dealt directly on a major foreign policy or national security matter. He mentions a number of trips to foreign countries and he suggested 12 steps "to stop the loss of America's prestige at home and abroad." The steps include admonitions to "monitor news and events around the world," "attend cultural festivals," and, "have a current map or globe and become familiar with the countries mentioned in news reports."
While saying that he would not "sacrifice one particle of America's power," Huckabee laid out the general theme of his foreign policy approach by saying that the "unprecedented power" of the United States must be accompanied by "unprecedented restraint."
Such a view may put Huckabee at odds with Bush, who attacked Iraq on grounds that a preemptive move was needed.
Huckabee, in his January 2007 book, seems to equivocate on the issue. Huckabee wrote that "there has been plenty of second-guessing as to whether the United States should have invaded Iraq. Historians will have plenty of opportunity to evaluate that decision. . . . It may well be that the intelligence on which the decision was made [to invade] was incomplete or flawed, but had we failed to topple Saddam Hussein's empire and he had utilized weapons of mass destruction against us . . . there would have been an even greater anger that we failed to act."
Huckabee's speech to CSIS, in which he launched a broadside against the Bush administration's handling of terrorism, received little attention because Huckabee at the time was barely registering in the polls. An article he wrote in Foreign Affairs magazine in December echoing some of the same points received more notice largely for declaring: "this administration's arrogant bunker mentality has been counter-productive both at home and abroad."
Huckabee said Bush caused some of the problems with Iran by describing it in his 2002 State of the Union address as part of an "axis of evil."
"When President Bush included Iran in his axis of evil, everything went downhill fast," Huckabee said. "I know we can't live with Al Qaeda, but there's a chance that we can live with a domesticated Iran. There is no way Iran will acquire nuclear weapons on my watch. But before I look parents in the eye to explain why I had to put their son's or daughter's life at risk in military action against Iran, I want to know that I have done everything possible to avoid that conflict."
Huckabee also suggested that US troops be sent into Pakistan to go after Al Qaeda's safe havens even if Pakistan refuses permission, a proposal that some believe would violate international law.
"I greatly prefer to do it with Pakistan's blessing and cooperation, but, one way or another, it has to get done," Huckabee said.
Huckabee, asked on Sunday on "Meet The Press" whether the proposal would violate international law, said the safety of Americans would be his paramount concern.
"Whatever we must do to protect our sovereignty against those whose ideologies are so extreme that they would do something so cowardly and so dastardly as to take thousands of innocent lives in that kind of terrorist action, yes sir, you better believe that I'll do anything necessary," Huckabee said.
Michael Kranish can be reached at kranish@globe.com 