Source: Hudson InstituteAs President Obama prepares to announce his plan to draw down U.S. forces from Afghanistan, Senator Joseph I. Lieberman warned against the growing tide of isolationism in America at Hudson Institute's James H. Doolittle Dinner. As the 2011 Doolittle Prize honoree, Lieberman argued in his major address that "a platform of retreat from the world has no place in either the Democratic or Republican Party.... We live in a world in which American leadership and American power are more important than ever."
Lieberman also told the crowd that "the best interests of our country require not only the policies of American internationalism and the strength of America's moral example, but also the exercise of American power—including, when necessary, the determined use of America's military might against our enemies."
Decrying a potential alliance between the anti-war left and isolationist right, Lieberman argued that the "real divide is between those who understand that our national interests require us to remain involved in the world and those who would rely on big oceans and hollow hopes to protect us."
In his remarks at the dinner, Hudson Institute President and CEO Kenneth R. Weinstein praised Lieberman as an heir to the great senators profiled in John F. Kennedy's Profiles in Courage, someone "who has taken his rightful place among the giants of the U.S. Senate."
Also honored at the dinner was Hudson Chairman Emeritus Walter P. Stern, who has served the Institute for more than three decades. His dedication, leadership, and guidance have helped make Hudson Institute the world-class policy organization it is today.
The full text of Senator Lieberman's speech, as well as video from the Doolittle dinner, can be accessed at http://www.hudson.org/doolittle.
