Posted on 02/23/2002 12:00:35 AM PST by nickcarraway
America's preminence has a time limit; Clinton
SYDNEY, Feb 23 AAP|Published: Saturday February 23, 4:43 PM
Former US president Bill Clinton today said America's era of pre-eminence would not last, with economies in Asia and Europe gaining strength.
He also called for the world to become more integrated so that the benefits of globalisation reached more of the world's poor.
Mr Clinton was delivering a wide-ranging speech to the 2002 World Congress on the Peaceful Reunification of China and World Peace in Sydney, for which he was reportedly paid $300,000.
Outside the Darling Harbour venue, Australia Taiwanese supporters of an independent Taiwan staged a rowdy protest.
A handful of the 150 protesters clashed with police and criticised Mr Clinton's appearance at the conference.
In his speech, Mr Clinton said history showed it was inevitable that America's time in the spotlight would draw to a close.
"This is a brief moment in history when the United States has pre-eminent military, economic and political power - it won't last forever.
"The Chinese economy is growing, the Indian economy is growing, and the European economy is growing together.
He said Americans should ask how they'd like to be treated when they no longer have this pre-eminent position.
"It seems to me if we would think about it like that, it would be much more likely to lead all Americans, without regard of their party, to making the right decisions about how we should approach a lot of these problems that we face.
"We should be humble about this; this is a fleeting moment in history," he told delegates at the conference.
Mr Clinton said September 11 had proved no-one was invulnerable and that the US now had a choice about how to proceed.
"When it comes to how we spend our money, there are two options: we could have a punish-and-defend strategy with terrorism or we can say `we had to be able to defend and punish but we also take some money to build a world with more partners and fewer terrorists'," Mr Clinton said.
He said today's "globalised" world had benefits and drawbacks.
"We live in a world of great interdependence, where we are all connected to one another, but it is not yet a fully integrated world," he said.
"We live in a world full of paradox.
"For example, the global economy has lifted more people out of poverty, more quickly than at any time in human history... on the other hand we still have half the world's people living on less than two dollars a day."
Mr Clinton said there was an obligation on everyone to create a more integrated world.
"We have to find a way to deal with our honest political, religious, racial, ethnic and tribal differences in a way that allows people to celebrate their differences but find some common cause in our shared humanity," he said.
He said leaving the US presidency behind did not mean he could give up on such issues.
"If you've spent your life in public service, it's hard to give it up," he said.
"What I do today is I spend half of my time on public service ... the major things I do are I work on the alleviation of poverty, and the creation of working market economies in poor areas in the United States and around the world.
"I work on racial and religious reconciliation ... and I work on helping countries solve their own problems."
Mr CLinton's speech also addressed the reunification of China, the global AIDS epidemic and his hope that the current US administration might be softening its stance on North Korea.
Outside the Darling Harbour venue, Australia Taiwanese supporters of an independent Taiwan staged a rowdy protest.
A handful of the 150 protesters clashed with police and criticised Mr Clinton's appearance at the conference.
Clinton tried very hard to make sure that the US's preminent would not last, with the security lapses and the technology transfers.
No Bill Clinton, it is you who has lost the spotlight.
ALLEVIATION OF POVERTY? By donating a sweatshirt or two to the World Trade Center cause, hauling off better than a quarter of a million in White House furnishings, a $10 million book deal, and worthless speeches delivered at 300 grand a pop. Just whose poverty in Mr. Clinton alleviating? I hate to think what this pervert does with the rest of his time, given his propensity for porcelain.
Well, you just keep on working toward that goal of yours, lowlife.
The seat on the Supreme Ruling Council of the World that you've been working so hard to get is just within arm's reach. A few more years of your Hate America tour should pretty much clinch the nomination for you.
This man is certifiably insane.
Clinton was paid $299,999.98 too much.
No one said you had to "give up on the issues," x42, but you could show a little respect for the office you held for eight years by not always trying to upstage the current occupant. By resuming your irrelevant, self-serving speaking schedule, you are proving, to me at least, that YOU know you didn't get it done while you squandered two terms. How about trying this technique: just shut up!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.