Reuters - McCain calls for more vigorous U.S. diplomacy

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McCain calls for more vigorous U.S. diplomacy

Wednesday, Mar 26, 2008 7:9PM UTC

By Tim Gaynor

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate John McCain, looking to chart an independent course on U.S. foreign policy, called on Wednesday for a more vigorous international diplomacy and a new effort to rebuild frayed relations with allies.

Distancing himself from the sometimes unilateral diplomatic approach of President George W. Bush, McCain said the United States needs to live up to its responsibilities as a world leader and become a "model citizen" in the global community.

"The United States cannot lead by virtue of its power alone," the Arizona senator, back from a trip to Iraq, the Middle East and Europe, said in a speech to the World Affairs Council in California.

"Our great power does not mean we can do whatever we want whenever we want, nor should we assume we have all the wisdom and knowledge necessary to succeed. We need to listen to the views and respect the collective will of our democratic allies," McCain said.

McCain, who has been criticized by Democrats for hewing too closely to the policies of Republican Bush, acknowledged the damaged U.S. image around the globe after five years of the Iraq war.

"Leadership in today's world means accepting and fulfilling our responsibilities as a great nation. One of those responsibilities is to be a good and reliable ally to our fellow democracies," he said.

McCain restated his opposition to torture and said the United States should close the military prison at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba where it holds terrorism suspects.

'WE CAN'T TORTURE'

"America must be a model citizen if we want others to look to us as a model," he said. "How we behave at home affects how we are perceived abroad. We can't torture or treat inhumanely suspected terrorists we have captured."

The Bush administration has denied torturing terrorism suspects, but has admitted using waterboarding -- a simulated drowning technique widely regarded as torture -- in some instances.

McCain has clinched the Republican nomination and will face the winner of the Democratic race between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama in November's presidential election.

The speech in Los Angeles was his second major policy address in two days as he tries to lay the groundwork for general election campaign and keep a high public profile while the two Democratic senators continue their nomination battle.

He spoke on the economy on Tuesday.

Clinton, a New York senator, and Obama, an Illinois senator, both support relatively quick withdrawals of troops from Iraq, and McCain rebuked their stance.

"We have incurred a moral responsibility in Iraq," he said. "It would be an unconscionable act of betrayal, a stain on our character as a great nation, if we were to walk away from the Iraqi people and consign them to the horrendous violence, ethnic cleansing, and possibly genocide that would follow a reckless, irresponsible, and premature withdrawal."

He said a withdrawal from Iraq would constitute an abandonment of efforts to rebuild the U.S. image abroad.

"Our critics say America needs to repair its image in the world. How can they argue at the same time for the morally reprehensible abandonment of our responsibilities in Iraq?" he asked.

"Those who claim we should withdraw from Iraq in order to fight al Qaeda more effectively elsewhere are making a dangerous mistake," he said.

(Writing by John Whitesides; editing by Patricia Wilson and Mohammad Zargham)

(To read more about the U.S. political campaign, visit Reuters "Tales from the Trail: 2008" online at http:blogs.reuters.com/trail08/)