February 26, 2014

Huffington Post: Elizabeth Warren Delivers National Security Address Focused On Civilian Casualties

By Ryan Grim

Febraury 26, 2014

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) delivered a major foreign policy and national security address Wednesday evening, positioning herself in a debate over the future role of U.S. force abroad. In her approach to national security, Warren is framing her message in much the same way she has shaped her domestic politics, as a combination of values and pragmatism.

On the domestic side, Warren argues generally that if the country is true to its values of equal opportunity, fairness and rule of law, it will create a level playing field. This in turn will not only boost the poor and middle class, but also grow the economy, benefiting the rich as well. In a similar way, a values-based national security policy will not just reflect better on the moral ledger, but also make the country safer, Warren said in the speech, given at Georgetown University.

Much of the focus of Warren's speech was the negative consequences that civilian casualties have on national security. Such deaths, or course, are a tragedy on their own terms, but Warren connects the casualties to our "national interest," a concept she says gets short shrift in the foreign policy calculus.

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