Kamala Harris team champions her ‘strong’ foreign policy record in memo
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The 10-page document was e-mailed on July 25 to cast Ms Kamala Harris as a foreign-policy heavyweight.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
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WASHINGTON – After US Vice-President Kamala Harris met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House, her office quickly dispatched a memo to national security professionals highlighting the new Democratic nominee’s “strong record” on foreign policy.
The 10-page document, which was obtained by Bloomberg, was e-mailed on July 25 as part of a full court press to cast Ms Harris – who has spent much of her career focused on domestic matters – as a foreign-policy heavyweight in a week when she began her campaign against former president Donald Trump.
It describes a leader who “played an integral role in restoring US global leadership around the world” alongside President Joe Biden and underscores her support of an American-led international order, in contrast to Trump’s isolationist leanings.
The memo hyping her record comes as Democrats try to neutralise Republican attacks on their new nominee for president and to play up the foreign policy experience she has gained alongside Mr Biden, who has dealt with global issues for decades as a senator.
It added that she offered advice in the White House Situation Room on “the toughest decisions – from the US response to Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine” to Iran’s missile and drone attack on Israel in April.
The document, sent by Ms Harris’ national security adviser Phil Gordon, pointed out that she has met more than 150 world leaders, including Chinese leader Xi Jinping, has had six meetings with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and conducted important diplomatic trips to Asia and a “historic” one to Africa.
“I’d like to share with you the attached information about Vice-President Harris’ strong record on foreign policy and national security,” Mr Gordon wrote to the national security professionals.
“I hope this is helpful as you engage with media and other stakeholders who are interested in learning more about the Vice-President and her important work.”
In particular, the memo highlights that she was “deeply involved” in the Biden administration’s response to the assault on Israel on Oct 7, 2023
According to the memo, she took part in more than 20 calls between Mr Biden and Mr Netanyahu.
But while the paper highlights her engagement with Israeli leaders, it also says Ms Harris “has been outspoken in calling attention to the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza and the loss of innocent life”.
“She has ensured the suffering of the Palestinians and the Palestinian perspective has remained at the forefront of policymaking,” according to the memo. “She has pressed Israeli leaders hard to protect civilians and increase humanitarian assistance.”
On July 26, after her meeting with Mr Netanyahu, Ms Harris followed up on that pledge with comments
“What has happened in Gaza over the past nine months is devastating – the images of dead children and desperate, hungry people fleeing for safety, sometimes displaced for the second, third or fourth time,” Ms Harris said. “We cannot look away in the face of these tragedies. We cannot allow ourselves to become numb to the suffering. And I will not be silent.”
When Trump met Mr Netanyahu on July 26
“Her remarks were disrespectful, they weren’t very nice pertaining to Israel,” Trump told Mr Netanyahu. “I actually don’t know how a person who’s Jewish can vote for her, but that’s up to them.”
Ms Harris’ office on July 26 evening declined to comment.
The memo appeared as Democrats try to burnish Ms Harris’ foreign-policy credentials after her career as a prosecutor in California focused on law-and-order issues.
Earlier this week, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken praised her as a “leading voice” on foreign policy who asks “penetrating questions” in White House deliberations.
Also this week, dozens of former senior officials signed a letter arguing she would require no “on-the-job training” because of her experience over the past 3½ years conducting foreign policy from the Vice-President’s office. BLOOMBERG
