Kerry talks of new goals globally
WASHINGTON -- Senator John F. Kerry indicated that as president he would play down the promotion of democracy as a leading goal in dealing with Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, China, and Russia, instead focusing on other objectives that he said are more central to US security.
Kerry, in an interview Friday night at his campaign headquarters, also rejected setting a date for the withdrawal of US soldiers from Iraq. Although the notion is gaining favor in some parts of the Democratic Party, Kerry said ''it is not a good idea just in a vacuum" because the timetable for reducing US troops must be dictated by success in holding elections and establishing security and stability.
While he said it was important to ''sell [democracy] and market it" around the world, he demurred when questioned specifically about a number of important countries that suppress human rights and freedoms. He said securing all nuclear materials in Russia, integrating China in the world economy, achieving greater controls over Pakistan's nuclear weapons, or winning greater cooperation on terrorist financing in Saudi Arabia trumped human rights concerns in those nations.
''Sometimes we are dealt a set of cards that don't allow us do everything we want to do at once," he said. 