Foreign Relations
For three decades, Joe Biden has played a pivotal role in shaping U.S. foreign policy. He has become respected at home and abroad for his well-informed, common-sense approach to international relations.
As the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Senator Biden has earned a reputation for working on a bipartisan basis with top Republican colleagues. Senator Richard Lugar, who is currently the top Republican on the committee has said: "Senator Biden has a very strong commitment to a bipartisan foreign policy and serves as a good example for everyone in Congress. He has a very broad, comprehensive view of the world. He's a good listener, but he's also a strong and effective advocate of his position."
Combating Terrorism and Weapons of Mass Destruction
Senator Biden is recognized as one of the nation's leading experts on terrorism. In a major speech on September 10, 2001, Senator Biden argued that the Bush administration's focus on missile defense had diverted out attention from more likely threats. The new threat to the United States, he said, "would not come from an inter-continental ballistic missile with a return address" but in "the belly of a plane" or from a "vial smuggled in a backpack or a bomb in the hold of a ship." After the attacks of 9/11, he argued that real security comes from prevention, no preemption. Threats must be defused before they reach the U.S. - especially the possibility that radical fundamentalists will acquire weapons of mass destruction. He authored legislation to help foreign countries address the threats of bioterrorism and nuclear or radiological ("dirty bombs") terrorism. He also sought to expand programs to destroy unsecured weapons of mass destruction and dangerous materials in the former Soviet Union and beyond.
Winning the Peace in Iraq
In July 2002, eight months before the Iraq war, Chairman Biden convened hearings to begin the national dialogue in Iraq. Together with Senator Richard Lugar, he proposed an alternative to the "use of force" resolution proposed by the Administration that would have limited the rationale for war, made international participation and legitimacy more important, and required detailed planning to secure the peace. Since the invasion of Iraq, he has provided constructive criticism of the Bush Administration and made specific recommendations to help U.S. policy succeed. His widely-praised plan to keep Iraq together by giving its main groups breathing room in their own regions would allow most of our troops to responsibly withdraw by the end of 2009. Senator Biden has traveled to Iraq eight times.
Preventing Genocide
Through his work on the Foreign Relations Committee, Biden has sought to promote the use of American power to stop dictators who commit crimes against humanity or genocide. In the 1990s, Biden was among the first to call for active American leadership to end Serbian aggression in Bosnia, and likewise urged U.S. action in Kosovo to stop Slobodon Milosevic's genocidal actions there. He has urged strong U.S. and international action to prevent genocide in Darfur, and authored legislation to engage NATO and provide additional sanctions to pressure the Sudanese regime.
Strengthening U.S. Diplomacy
Biden has worked across party lines to strengthen American diplomacy. In the late 1990s, he joined with Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jesse Helms on legislation to reorganize the government's foreign policy agencies, and co-authored the landmark "Helms-Biden" legislation authorizing the payment of nearly $1 billion in back dues owed to the United Nations, contigent on U.N. reforms. Senator Biden also has been a leader in expanding U.S. radio and television broadcasting into the Muslim world to explain U.S. policies and counter anti-American propaganda.
Senator Biden's legislative interests have focused on a wide range of foreign policy issues, including arms control and non-proliferation, European security, the Middle East peace process, and international narcotics policy. He has traveled widely during his Senate career and meets regularly with visiting heads of state and foreign ministers.