Cameron attacks US foreign policy
The Bush-Wolfowitz relationship resulted in a neo-con Washington administration
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Wednesday, 03, Sep 2008 12:56
American neo-conservative foreign policy is doomed to failure, David Cameron has said in a speech in Pakistan.
"We should accept that we cannot impose democracy at the barrel of a gun; that we cannot drop democracy from 10,000ft and we shouldn't try," he said.
"Put crudely, that was what was wrong with the 'neo con' approach and why I am a liberal conservative, not a neo-conservative."
Despite not mentioning president George Bush or the Iraq invasion by name, Mr Cameron's audience would have been under no illusion about his subject matter.
Mr Cameron attempted to differentiate between liberal interventionism, which tries to impose democracy on other countries through sheer military might, and liberal conservatism, which pursues the same agenda through respect for a country's traditions and culture.
"A liberal conservative approach recognises that democracy must be built around the institutions, habits and culture of each country," he continued.
"Democracy should be the work of patient craftsmanship and not of a uniform mass production line, if the final product is to be of a quality that endures."
But Mr Cameron did not adopt the critique of British and American foreign policy popular in some quarters, which defined democracy as a western value which is often unsuitable for other cultures.
"For me, democracy is not just a goal in itself," he said.
"It is our best available mechanism for lasting good government that delivers economic, social and environmental progress.
"Democracies tend not to go to war with each other.
"Democracies offer a structure in which differences - including territorial and ethnic disputes - can be debated and resolved.
"Democracy gives every citizen a say.
"But the case for democracy needs to be remade and refreshed in every generation.
Mr Cameron arrived in Pakistan after visiting British troops in Afghanistan. His meetings with political leaders continued today despite a failed assassination attempt on prime minister Yousuf Gilani.
He called on Pakistan and Britain to work together to combat terrorism.
"We need your continued cooperation on counterterrorism and we need to be sure that all your governmental agencies are fully committed to this goal," he said.
"Because and I say this not in a spirit of recrimination - it is on your commitment to delivering these goals that Pakistan's international reputation will depend."