Julián Castro
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DATA FOR PROGRESS JULIÁN CASTRO OVERVIEW Former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julián Castro’s campaign has centered on immigration and racial justice. In keeping with that theme he has taken some strong progressive positions on foreign policy when it comes to re- thinking the US relationship to Latin America and deconstructing anti- Muslim and anti-immigrant policies crafted in the name of a misguided view of national security. 1 at physical, social, and economic threats holistically, The United and put people over power and profits. We want to see a recognition that many security challenges lack States’s Role in military solutions, and an acknowledgement that there are limits to US power. the World Where Castro stands: When asked directly about What we’re looking for: A progressive foreign the top challenges to US security, Castro named policy rejects Trump-esque “America First” posturing China and climate change.3 He’s also pointed to in which alliances are annoyances, international inequality, mass migration, cybersecurity and the rise institutions are burdens, and foreign policy is of authoritarianism.4 He’s offered solutions involving inherently zero-sum, oppositional, and transactional. diplomacy and development on these subjects. He’s A progressive foreign policy also avoids “American also decried US entanglements in wars.5 exceptionalism” framing, which fails to recognize the harm that some of the United States’s policies Bottom line: Castro hasn’t made a foreign policy have done in the world (including policies instituted speech or issued a written plan on the matter, so it’s before Trump), and it does not view either the difficult to piece together his vision on US engagement US’s permanent, global military hegemony as a in the world. But when directly asked, he hasn’t prerequisite for a peaceful world, or the rise of other echoed fear-based threat inflation on the campaign countries as an inherent threat. trail, and that’s great to see. Where Castro stands: When asked directly about his foreign policy priorities, Castro offered a defense of the post-WWII international order, and pledged Investing to strengthen international partnerships and institutions.1 He also said he wants to see the US in Military taking a leadership role on human rights, and warned against entanglements like the Iraq War.2 Dominance Bottom line: Despite having few detailed foreign versus Other policy proposals, Castro puts forward a vision of global engagement and cooperation, with US leadership Tools focused on diplomacy and development, though he What we’re looking for: The challenges facing primarily identifies Trump-era policies as the problem the United States often lack military solutions, and with achieving that vision. prioritizing global military dominance at any cost is both harmful and unsustainable. A progressive budget would instead prioritize increasing the number of expert diplomats, expanding development Threat programs that prevent conflict and reduce poverty, Assessments and fortifying peacebuilding institutions, rather than further inflating the already bloated Pentagon budget. What we’re looking for: We want to see candidates take stock of and prioritize the security challenges Where Castro stands (and bottom line): Castro facing the United States through a realistic lens that has talked about the need to invest in peacebuilding avoids fearmongering and/or inflating the level of institutions, such as the State Department and USAID, actual threat. Candidates should prioritize by looking in order to prevent conflicts before they occur,6 but JULIÁN CASTRO 2 he has also echoed rhetoric about a “readiness crisis” Saudi behaviors, and called for an end to US military at the Pentagon,7 which ignores its already bloated support.9 budget. He hasn’t put forward a plan to realign US Bottom line: Castro is one of the only candidates not investments. to put forward a clear plan to end US complicity in Saudi war crimes. The Crisis in Yemen, and US Ending Endless Military Support Wars What we’re looking for: The post-9/11 wars and to the Gulf States global military operations have proven ineffective What we’re looking for: A progressive consensus at reducing terrorism. They also seem to be endless, has emerged in favor of ending US military support consuming trillions of dollars and tens of thousands for a bombing campaign as part of Yemen’s civil war. of lives. A progressive candidate should explictly During the Obama administration, the US began to recognize that there is no military solution to actively assist a coalition led by Saudi Arabia and transnational groups that perpetuate terrorism, and the United Arab Emirates, supplying them with should reflect the overwhelming consensus among the intelligence, targeting assistance, refueling aircraft, US public that these wars were a mistake. and weapons sales. Candidates should articulate clear, thoughtful plans All parties to this conflict, including the Saudi- for bringing the “Forever War” to an end. These led coalition as well as their enemies the Houthis, plans should encompass not only ending US military have committed war crimes against the civilian interventions in places like Afghanistan and Syria population. But US military support for the Saudis but also halting the routine use of targeted strikes makes the United States directly complicit in their through drones and raids, and arming and training actions targeting civilians and blockading key ports, of proxy forces. Their plans should drastically limit resulting in a mass famine, a spiraling civilian the widespread covert operations of US special forces, body count, a cholera outbreak, and currently the and not simply replace active military operations with world’s worst humanitarian crisis. Congress has less-transparent covert operations or with private- voted on a bipartisan basis to end US participation sector mercenaries. in Saudi Arabia’s war in Yemen, and to halt arms Their plans should invest heavily in ensuring a stable sales to the Gulf states carrying out the atrocities. and peaceful transition as those operations wind President Trump, however, has vetoed these efforts. down, placing impacted civilian populations as a top At minimum, a progressive candidate would commit priority through inclusive diplomatic negotiations and to end US complicity in this tragedy and similar aid programs. atrocities in the future. Candidates should also focus on fortifying the Where Castro stands: Castro has pledged to end constitutionally mandated separation of war US participation in the Saudi-led war in Yemen, powers between the Executive Branch and Congress. saying that the US “must continue to assess our Candidates should also work to increase transparency relationship with Saudi Arabia given [Khashoggi’s and democratic accountability over the future use of murder], including US support for the Saudi war in the US military. Yemen.”8 He has noted the lack of accountability for JULIÁN CASTRO 3 Where Castro stands: Castro has said that he’s “not transnational partnership in order to jointly address a big fan” of recent American military commitments, existential, shared global challenges (climate change, including in Iraq and Syria,10 and he has signed nuclear weapons). veterans group Common Defense’s plan to end forever Progressive candidates should also recognize that wa r. 11 He has both said that there wouldn’t be combat the challenges that Russia and China pose are troops in Afghanistan at the end of his first term,12 unique and context specific. In the case of Russia, and also that he would conduct a withdrawal in a the primary security challenge to the US consists of “responsible” way that ensures a stable transition disinformation and election interference, like what by means of inclusive negotiations that include took place in 2016, as well as the country’s willingness the Afghan government and women.13 He’s also to wage asymmetric warfare, such as in Crimea. In the condemned Congress’ abdication of its warmaking case of China, the primary security challenge is the responsibilities and the wide-ranging global war increasingly totalitarian nature of the regime and its authorization.14 willingness to weaponize technology and economic However, Castro hasn’t indicated whether the US resources to the detriment of human rights and should continue targeted strikes or leave residual human dignity, both inside and beyond its borders. forces in Afghanistan or the Middle East. Neither has Where Castro stands: Castro identified China as he indicated the extent to which he supports repeal of a top threat,15 but he appears not to have explicitly current authorities and restoring warmaking powers indicated support for a military buildup in response. to Congress. He’s talked about strengthening alliances and Bottom line: Castro’s commitment to wind down investing in international economic development in current wars is welcome, though we’d like to see a order to compete globally.16 more fleshed-out plan to end the endless wars, and to Castro has also indicated support for increased prevent further expansion of presidential war powers. military engagement to confront Russian aggression.17 Bottom line: There is little to draw from in piecing together Castro’s approach on Russia and China, but Russia and China there are concerning, hawkish elements in his rhetoric. What we’re looking for: Progressive candidates should reject the framing that the rise of Russia and China requires a response akin to a new Cold War, a ramped-up “great-power competition” for Venezuela unquestioned global military dominance at any What we’re looking for: Mindful both of the crisis cost, or a zero-sum diplomatic approach hostile to unfolding in Venezuela as well as the ugly history targeted cooperation with either state. Human rights of US interventions in Latin America, progressives abuses and other violations of international norms are looking to presidential candidates to first do no should not be ignored, but we’d like to see candidates harm.