バイデン政権の対外政策

3/82021

3月3日にバイデン大統領は「暫定的国家安全保障戦略指針」（'Interim National Security Strategic Guidance'）を発表(以下「指針」)し、同日、ブリンケン国務長官はその発表に先だって、「アメリカ人民のための対外政策」（'A Foreign Policy for the American People'）と題してバイデン政権の対外政策演説(以下「演説」)を行いました。私はこれまで、バイデン政権の対外政策は基本的にオバマ政権時代の「焼き直し」であるという基本判断でした。しかし、指針及び政策を読むとき、大統領選挙で7000万人以上の有権者の支持を得たトランプ及びその外交(「アメリカ第一主義」)が残した「遺産」はバイデン政権の対外政策思想に色濃く影を落としていることに強く印象づけられました。
　そのことは、バイデンが「指針」において、「世界をリードするということは、アメリカ人民が平和、安全、繁栄のもとで暮らすことができることを保証するためであり、否定できない我々自身の利益のためである」と述べていること、また、ブリンケンの演説が「アメリカ人民のための対外政策」というタイトルであることに端的に示されています。
トランプ政権以前の歴代政権(民主党であると共和党であるとを問わない)においては、「世界をリードすることがアメリカの利益にかなう」ことは、改めて説明する必要のない、いわば「自明の理」とされていました。トランプ外交は正面からこの「自明の理」に挑戦しました。すなわちかつては、安全保障政策の中心は世界に張り巡らすアメリカを頂点とする同盟戦略であり、国際経済政策の中心はアメリカが主導する多国間主義(IMF/WTO体制)でした。しかし、トランプは一国主義・商売人的損得勘定の立場から同盟戦略及び多国間主義を「清算」しようとし、かつ、トランプ支持者から熱狂的な支持を得ました。「指針」及び「演説」は同盟戦略及び多国間主義の重要性を力説し、これらを再びバイデン政権の対外政策の中心に据えることを明らかにしています。したがって、おそらく今後推進される対外政策の多くはオバマ政権時代からの「焼き直し」になることは間違いないと思います。しかし、これらの政策の正しさを「自明の理」とするのではなく、「アメリカ人民の利益になる」「我々自身の利益のためである」という主張を全面に打ち出すことで正当化することがバイデン政権の対外政策の基調になるということです。「指針」はこの点を次のように述べています。

　我々が同盟を強化するとき、脅威がやってくる前にこれを崩壊させるパワーと能力を強化することになる。我々が諸国の経済開発に投資するとき、我が製品の新しい市場を作り出し、不安定、暴力そして大量移民の可能性を減らすことになる。我々が世界の医療システムを強化するとき、我が国の人民及び経済を脅かす可能性のあるパンデミックの将来的リスクを減らすことになる。我々がすべての人々の平等の権利を防衛するとき、アメリカの子供たちのためにこれらの権利を保障する手助けをすることになる。

　ブリンケンは「演説」の中で、バイデン政権の構成員の多くはオバマ政権でも働いたことがあることを認めつつ、時間が違っているように、戦略及びアプローチも違い、世界をフレッシュな目で見ていると強調した上で、新コロナ・ウィルス阻止と世界の医療安全保障、経済危機克服とより安定したインクルーシヴな世界経済の構築、脅かされているデモクラシーの復活、人道的かつ効果的な移民システムの構築、同盟国及びパートナーとの結びつきの活力付与、気候危機の取り組みとグリーン・エネルギーへの取り組み、テクノロジーにおけるリーダーシップ確保、そして21世紀最大の地政学的テストである対中関係の管理の8つをバイデン政権のプライオリティであると指摘します。そしてブリンケンは、これらの課題のいくつかについては、バイデンと同じく、その重要性をアメリカ人民にとっての利益という角度から説明しています。
　例えば、「経済危機克服とより安定したインクルーシヴな世界経済の構築」に関して、ブリンケンは次のように重要性を説明しています。

　そうするためには、アメリカ人民に真に裨益するように世界経済を管理すると同時に、国内で正しい政策を届ける必要がある。これについては、GDPを増やすとか株価を上げるとかだけを言おうとしているのではない。多くのアメリカ人家庭にとってこれらの措置はあまり意味がない。私が言いたいのはアメリカ人労働者及びその家族にとってのよい仕事、よい収入そして生活費用の減少である。
　我々は学び取った厳しい教訓に立っている。我々はかつて自由貿易協定を弁護したが、その時の理屈は、我々が欲する形で世界経済を構築するようにすれば、アメリカ人民は広く分け前に与るというものだった。我々がそう考えるのにはそれだけの理由はあった。しかし、我々はマイナスの影響を受ける人たちのことを十分に理解していなかったし、彼らの痛みを相殺するには何が必要か、より多くの労働者と小企業主が十分に裨益するように定めている協定を実行に移すことについて十分に理解していなかった。
　今後の我々のアプローチは違う。我々は、すべてのアメリカ人のジョブのために闘うし、すべてのアメリカ人労働者の権利、保護、そして利益のために闘う。我々はあらゆる手段を講じて、我が知的財産を盗み、不当な利益を得るべく通貨を操作する国々を阻止する。我が貿易政策は、アメリカ人中産階級を増やし、新しくより良いジョブを創造し、すべてのアメリカ人に裨益する答を明らかにする必要がある。

また、「同盟国及びパートナーとの結びつきの活力付与」に関して、ブリンケンは次のように述べています。

　これらの結びつきは我々のユニークな資産である。これらの結びつきがない場合よりもある場合の方が、我々はより多くのことをすることができる。…
　過去数十年にわたり、これらのコミットメントによって我が製品の新しい市場、侵略阻止の新しい同盟国、世界的挑戦に対処する上での新しいパートナーが生み出されてきた。我々はこれを称して「賢明な利己心」（"enlightened self-interest"）という。我々がハッキリ理解しているのは、本当のパートナーシップというのは一緒に荷物を運び、それぞれが自分の役割を担うということであり、アメリカだけが背負い込むということではない。可能性があるときは、我々は関与することを選ぶ。国際安全保障及び世界経済に関するルールが決められるときは、アメリカはそこにおり、アメリカ人民の利益が最優先される。場外にいるよりも、その場にいる方が常によい結果が得られる。

　「気候危機の取り組みとグリーン・エネルギーへの取り組み」に関しても、ブリンケンはカリフォルニアの森林火災、中西部の洪水、南東部のハリケーン被害という具体例を挙げつつ、国際社会共同の対処なくして解決があり得ないことを強調しています。
　バイデン政権の対外政策は、以上に示したように、政策そのものがオバマ政権以前とは異なるということではなく、その政策を正当化する理由付けが違っているということが分かると思います。それは、すでに述べたとおり、トランプ及びその外交の「遺産」がアメリカ人の約半数によって支持されてきたという事実の重みをバイデン政権が無視できないことを示していると理解して間違いないでしょう。
しかし、「アメリカ人民の利益」に軸足をおくバイデン政権の対外政策は、ある意味で「諸刃の剣」でもあります。それは、対国内説明としてはともかく、アメリカの同盟国、パートナー国からすれば、「アメリカ(人民)の利益」＝「同盟国・パートナー国の利益」ということは決して「自明の理」ではないからです。ましてや、ブリンケンがこの政策を「賢明な利己心」と称するに至っては、日本の保守政権のような「アメリカべったり」の国は別として、トランプ政権に対して距離を置く姿勢を明らかにし始めたドイツ(メルケル政権)、フランス(マクロン政権)等諸国はますます自主独立の立場を強める契機として働く可能性は十分にあると思います。
　いずれにせよ、バイデンの「指針」及びブリンケンの「演説」は、今後のアメリカの対外政策を観察・分析していく上で欠かすことのできない基本文献になる（少なくとも今後数ヶ月）と思いますので、以下に原文を掲載しておきます。なお、ブリンケンが8番目に挙げた「21世紀最大の地政学的テストである対中関係の管理」に関しては、項を改めて考える予定をしています。

（バイデン「指針」）
Interim National Security Strategic Guidance
In my inaugural address, I committed to engage with the world once again, not to meet yesterday's challenges, but today's and tomorrow's.
Our world is at an inflection point. Global dynamics have shifted. New crises demand our attention. And in this moment of accelerating global challenges — from the pandemic to the climate crisis to nuclear proliferation to the fourth industrial revolution — one thing is certain: we will only succeed in advancing American interests and upholding our universal values by working in common cause with our closest allies and partners, and by renewing our own enduring sources of national strength.
That begins with the revitalization of our most fundamental advantage: our democracy. I believe we are in the midst of an historic and fundamental debate about the future direction of our world. There are those who argue that, given all the challenges we face, autocracy is the best way forward. And there are those who understand that democracy is essential to meeting all the challenges of our changing world.
I firmly believe that democracy holds the key to freedom, prosperity, peace, and dignity. We must now demonstrate — with a clarity that dispels any doubt — that democracy can still deliver for our people and for people around the world. We must prove that our model isn't a relic of history; it's the single best way to realize the promise of our future. And, if we work together with our democratic partners, with strength and confidence, we will meet every challenge and outpace every challenger.
Achieving these goals rests on a core strategic proposition: The United States must renew its enduring advantages so that we can meet today's challenges from a position of strength. We will build back better our economic foundations; reclaim our place in international institutions; lift up our values at home and speak out to defend them around the world; modernize our military capabilities, while leading first with diplomacy; and revitalize America's unmatched network of alliances and partnerships.
And as we do this work, we must also demonstrate clearly to the American people that leading the world isn't an investment we make to feel good about ourselves. It's how we ensure the American people are able to live in peace, security, and prosperity. It's in our undeniable self-interest.
When we strengthen our alliances, we amplify our power and our ability to disrupt threats before they can reach our shores. When we invest in the economic development of countries, we create new markets for our products and reduce the likelihood of instability, violence, and mass migrations. When we strengthen health systems around the world, we reduce the risk of future pandemics that can threaten our people and our economy. When we defend equal rights of all people — of women and girls, LGBTQI individuals, indigenous communities, people with disabilities, and people of every ethnic background and religion — we help ensure that those rights are protected for our own children here in America.
Today, I am issuing this interim guidance to convey my vision for how America will engage with the world. I direct departments and agencies to align their actions with this guidance, even as we begin work on a National Security Strategy. We have no time to waste. The simple truth is, America cannot afford to be absent any longer on the world stage. And under the Biden-Harris Administration, America is back. Diplomacy is back. Alliances are back. But we are not looking back. We are looking irrevocably toward the future and all that we can achieve for the American people — together. Let's get to work.
（ブリンケン「演説」）
A Foreign Policy for the American People
SECRETARY BLINKEN: Good morning. My fellow Americans, five weeks ago I was sworn in as your Secretary of State. My job is to represent the United States to the world, to fight for the interests and values of the American people. When President Biden asked me to serve, he made sure that I understood that my job is to deliver for you – to make your lives more secure, create opportunity for you and your families, and tackle the global crises that are increasingly shaping your futures.
I take this responsibility very seriously. And an important part of the job is speaking to you about what we're doing and why.
Later today, President Biden will share what's called the "interim strategic guidance" on our national security and foreign policy. It gives initial direction to our national security agencies so that they can get to work right away while we keep developing a more in-depth national security strategy over the next several months. The interim guidance lays out the global landscape as the Biden administration sees it, explains the priorities of our foreign policy – and specifically how we will renew America's strength to meet the challenges and seize the opportunities of our time.
So for this – my first major speech as Secretary – I'm going to walk through – walk you through how American diplomacy will carry out the President's strategy. If we do our jobs right, you'll be able to check our work – to see the links between what we're doing around the world and the goals and values I'll lay out today.
I know that foreign policy can sometimes feel disconnected from our daily lives. It's either all about major threats – like pandemics, terrorism – or it fades from view.
That's in part because it's often about people and events on the other side of the world, and it's about things you don't see – like crises stopped before they start, or negotiations that happen out of sight.
But it's also because those of us who conduct foreign policy haven't always done a good job connecting it to the needs and aspirations of the American people. As a result, for some time now Americans have been asking tough but fair questions about what we're doing, how we're leading – indeed, whether we should be leading at all.
With this in mind, we've set the foreign policy priorities for the Biden administration by asking a few simple questions:
What will our foreign policy mean for American workers and their families?
What do we need to do around the world to make us stronger here at home?
And what do we need to do at home to make us stronger in the world?
The answers to these questions aren't the same as they were in 2017 or 2009. Yes, many of us serving in the Biden administration also proudly served President Obama – including President Biden. And we did a great deal of good work to restore America's leadership in the world; to achieve hard-won diplomatic breakthroughs, like the deal that stopped Iran from producing a nuclear weapon; and to bring the world together to tackle climate change. Our foreign policy fit the moment, as any good strategy should.
But this is a different time, so our strategy and approach are different. We're not simply picking up where we left off, as if the past four years didn't happen. We're looking at the world with fresh eyes.
Having said that, while the times have changed, some principles are enduring.
One is that American leadership and engagement matter. We're hearing this now from our friends. They're glad we're back. Whether we like it or not, the world does not organize itself. When the U.S. pulls back, one of two things is likely to happen: either another country tries to take our place, but not in a way that advances our interests and values; or, maybe just as bad, no one steps up, and then we get chaos and all the dangers it creates. Either way, that's not good for America.
Another enduring principle is that we need countries to cooperate, now more than ever. Not a single global challenge that affects your lives can be met by any one nation acting alone – not even one as powerful as the United States. And there is no wall high enough or strong enough to hold back the changes transforming our world.
That's where the institution I'm privileged to lead comes in. It's the role of the State Department – and America's diplomats and development workers – to engage around the world and build that cooperation.
President Biden has pledged to lead with diplomacy because it's the best way to deal with today's challenges. At the same time, we'll make sure that we continue to have the world's most powerful armed forces. Our ability to be effective diplomats depends in no small measure on the strength of our military.
And in everything we do, we'll look not only to make progress on short-term problems, but also to address their root causes and lay the groundwork for our long-term strength. As the President says, to not only build back, but build back better.
So here's our plan.
First, we will stop COVID-19 and strengthen global health security.
The pandemic has defined lives – our lives – for more than a year. To beat it back, we need governments, scientists, businesses, and communities around the world working together. None of us will be fully safe until the majority of the world is immune because as long as the virus is replicating, it could mutate into new strains that find their way back to America. So we need to work closely with partners to keep the global vaccination effort moving forward.
At the same time, we need to make sure we learn the right lessons and make the right investments in global health security, including tools to predict, prevent, and stop pandemics, and a firm global commitment to share accurate and timely information, so that a crisis like this never happens again.
Second, we will turn around the economic crisis and build a more stable, inclusive global economy. The pandemic has caused unemployment to surge around the world. Nearly every country on earth is now in a recession. The pandemic also laid bare inequalities that have defined life for millions of Americans for a long time. So we've got a double challenge: to protect Americans from a lengthy downturn, and to make sure the global economy delivers security and opportunity for as many Americans as possible in the long term.
To do that, we need to pass the right policies at home, like the relief package the President is pushing hard for right now, while working to manage the global economy so it truly benefits the American people. And by that, I don't just mean a bigger GDP or a rising stock market; for many American households, those measures don't mean much. I mean good jobs, good incomes, and lower household costs for American workers and their families.
We're building on hard lessons learned. Some of us previously argued for free trade agreements because we believed Americans would broadly share in the economic gains that those – and that those deals would shape the global economy in ways that we wanted. We had good reasons to think those things. But we didn't do enough to understand who would be negatively affected and what would be needed to adequately offset their pain, or to enforce agreements that were already on the books and help more workers and small businesses fully benefit from them.
Our approach now will be different. We will fight for every American job and for the rights, protections, and interests of all American workers. We will use every tool to stop countries from stealing our intellectual property or manipulating their currencies to get an unfair advantage. We will fight corruption, which stacks the deck against us. And our trade policies will need to answer very clearly how they will grow the American middle class, create new and better jobs, and benefit all Americans, not only those for whom the economy is already working.
Third, we will renew democracy, because it's under threat.
A new report from the independent watchdog group Freedom House is sobering. Authoritarianism and nationalism are on the rise around the world. Governments are becoming less transparent and have lost the trust of the people. Elections are increasingly flashpoints for violence. Corruption is growing. And the pandemic has accelerated many of these trends.
But the erosion of democracy is not only happening in other places. It's also happening here in the United States. Disinformation is rampant here. Structural racism and inequality make life worse for millions. Our elected leaders were targeted in the violent siege of the Capitol just two months ago. And more broadly, Americans are increasingly polarized – and the institutions that exist to help us manage our differences, so our democracy can continue to function, are under strain. Shoring up our democracy is a foreign policy imperative. Otherwise, we play right into the hands of adversaries and competitors like Russia and China, who seize every opportunity to sow doubts about the strength of our democracy. We shouldn't be making their jobs easier.
I take heart from the fact that we're dealing with our struggles out in the open. And that sets us apart from many other countries. We don't ignore our failures and shortcomings or try sweep them under the rug and pretend they don't exist. We confront them for the world to see. It's painful. Sometimes it's ugly. But it's how we make progress.
Still, there's no question that our democracy is fragile. People around the world have seen that. Many recognize in our challenges the challenges that they're facing. And now they're watching us because they want to see whether our democracy is resilient, whether we can rise to the challenge here at home. That will be the foundation for our legitimacy in defending democracy around the world for years to come.
Why does that matter? Because strong democracies are more stable, more open, better partners to us, more committed to human rights, less prone to conflict, and more dependable markets for our goods and services. When democracies are weak, governments can't deliver for their people or a country becomes so polarized that it's hard for anything to get done, they become more vulnerable to extremist movements from the inside and to interference from the outside. And they become less reliable partners to the United States. None of that is in our national interest.
The more we and other democracies can show the world that we can deliver, not only for our people, but also for each other, the more we can refute the lie that authoritarian countries love to tell, that theirs is the better way to meet people's fundamental needs and hopes. It's on us to prove them wrong.
So the question isn't if we will support democracy around the world, but how.
We will use the power of our example. We will encourage others to make key reforms, overturn bad laws, fight corruption, and stop unjust practices. We will incentivize democratic behavior.
But we will not promote democracy through costly military interventions or by attempting to overthrow authoritarian regimes by force. We have tried these tactics in the past. However well intentioned, they haven't worked. They've given democracy promotion a bad name, and they've lost the confidence of the American people. We will do things differently.
Fourth, we will work to create a humane and effective immigration system.
Strong borders are fundamental to our national security, and laws are the bedrock of our democracy. But we also need a diplomatic, and just plain decent, solution to the fact that year after year, people from other countries risk everything to try to make it here. We need to address the root causes that drive so many people to flee their homes. And so we'll work closely with other countries, especially our neighbors in Central America, to help them deliver better physical security and economic opportunity so people don't feel like migrating is the only way out and up.
As we do this work, we will not lose sight of our core principles. Cruelty, especially to children, is unacceptable. And turning our backs on some of the most vulnerable people on earth is not who we should ever be.
One of the most important pieces of our national identity is that we are a country of immigrants. We're made stronger by the fact that hardworking people come here to go to school, start businesses, enrich our communities. We've gotten away from that part of ourselves in the past few years. We've got to get back to it.
Fifth, we will revitalize our ties with our allies and partners.
Our alliances are what the military calls force multipliers. They're our unique asset. We get so much more done with them than we could without them. So we're making a big push right now to reconnect with our friends and allies, and to reinvent partnerships that were built years ago so they're suited to today's and tomorrow's challenges. That includes countries in Europe and Asia that have been our closest friends for decades, as well as old and new partners in Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America.
Over the decades, these commitments have created new markets for our products, new allies to deter aggression, and new partners to help meet global challenges. We had a name for it: "enlightened self-interest." We'll be clear that real partnership means carrying burdens together, everyone doing their part – not just us. And whenever we can, we will choose engagement. Wherever the rules for international security and the global economy are being written, America will be there, and the interests of the American people will be front and center.
We're always better off at the table, not outside the room. You should expect nothing less from your government.
Sixth, we will tackle the climate crisis and drive a green energy revolution.
Maybe you live in California, where wildfires get worse every year. Or the Midwest, where farmland keeps flooding. Or the Southeast, where communities have been destroyed by stronger and more frequent storms. The climate crisis is endangering all of us, and costing us more by the month. We can't fix it alone. The United States produces 15 percent of the world's carbon pollution. That's a lot, and we badly need to get that number down. But even if we brought it down to zero, we wouldn't solve the crisis, because the rest of the world is producing the other 85 percent.
This is the definition of a problem we need to work together, as a community of nations, to solve. And we can't settle for only doing the bare minimum. We have to challenge ourselves and each other to do more. While we do, we must also position the United States to thrive and lead in the growing global market for renewable energy. Wind and solar are the cheapest sources of electricity generation in the world today. They're not the industries of the future anymore; the future is now. And other countries are ahead of us. We need to turn that around and create millions of good-paying jobs for Americans in renewables.
Seventh, we will secure our leadership in technology.
A global technology revolution is now underway. The world's leading powers are racing to develop and deploy new technologies like artificial intelligence and quantum computing that could shape everything about our lives – from where get energy, to how we do our jobs, to how wars are fought. We want America to maintain our scientific and technological edge, because it's critical to us thriving in the 21st century economy.
But we know that new technologies aren't automatically beneficial. And those who use them don't always have good intentions. We need to make sure technologies protect your privacy, make the world safer and healthier, and make democracies more resilient. That's where American diplomacy comes in. We're going to bring our friends and partners together to shape behavior around emerging technologies and establish guardrails against misuse.
At the same time, we must strengthen our tech defenses and deterrents. We need only look at SolarWinds, the major hack of U.S. Government networks last year, to see how determined our adversaries are to use technology to undermine us. Today, safeguarding our national security means investing in our technological capabilities and elevating this issue in our diplomacy and our defense. We will do both.
And eighth, we will manage the biggest geopolitical test of the 21st century: our relationship with China.
Several countries present us with serious challenges, including Russia, Iran, North Korea. And there are serious crises we have to deal with, including in Yemen, Ethiopia, and Burma.
But the challenge posed by China is different. China is the only country with the economic, diplomatic, military, and technological power to seriously challenge the stable and open international system – all the rules, values, and relationships that make the world work the way we want it to, because it ultimately serves the interests and reflects the values of the American people.
Our relationship with China will be competitive when it should be, collaborative when it can be, and adversarial when it must be. The common denominator is the need to engage China from a position of strength.
That requires working with allies and partners, not denigrating them, because our combined weight is much harder for China to ignore. It requires engaging in diplomacy and in international organizations, because where we have pulled back, China has filled in. It requires standing up for our values when human rights are abused in Xinjiang or when democracy is trampled in Hong Kong, because if we don't, China will act with even greater impunity. And it means investing in American workers, companies, and technologies, and insisting on a level playing field, because when we do, we can out-compete anyone.
These are the eight top foreign policy priorities of the Biden administration. You may notice some things about that list.
First, important items are not on it. That doesn't mean they don't matter to us or that we won't work hard on them. Indeed, I look forward to setting out what we'll do on other vital pieces of our foreign policy in the days and weeks ahead.
But these priorities – the ones I've talked about today – are the most urgent, the ones on which we must make swift and sustained progress.
They're also all simultaneously domestic and foreign issues. And we've got to approach them that way, or we'll fall short. Beating COVID means vaccinating people at home and abroad. Winning in the global economy means making the right investments at home and pushing back against unfair trading practices by China and others. Dealing with climate change means investing in resilience and green energy here at home and leading a global effort to reduce carbon pollution.
More than at any other time in my career – maybe in my lifetime – distinctions between domestic and foreign policy have simply fallen away. Our domestic renewal and our strength in the world are completely entwined. And how we work will reflect that reality.
And finally, as the President has promised, diplomacy – not military action – will always come first. Again, this is shaped by hard lessons learned. Americans are rightly wary of prolonged U.S. military interventions abroad. We've seen how they've often come at far too high a cost, both to us and to others. When we look back at the past decades of our military involvement in the world, especially in Afghanistan and the Middle East, we must remember what we've learned about the limits of force to build a durable peace; that the day after a major military intervention is always harder than we imagine; and how critical it is to pursue every possible avenue to a diplomatic solution.
Of course, we will never hesitate to use force when American lives and vital interests are at stake. That's why President Biden authorized an airstrike last week against Iranian-backed militia groups targeting U.S. and coalition forces in Iraq. But in that case – and in future cases when we must take military action – we will do so only when the objectives and mission are clear and achievable, consistent with our values and laws, and with the informed consent of the American people. And we'll do it together with diplomacy.
Finally, all our priorities go directly to our core sources of national strength. And we define strength broadly, because a truly strong country is strong in many ways at once. Real strength isn't bluster or bullying. And it's not based in military power alone.
Real strength is that and more.
It's making sure our most valuable commodity as a nation – our human resources – can meet their full potential.
It's a flourishing democracy and an innovative and inclusive economy. It's the ability to bring countries together because they trust us to lead, and no one can unite others like we can. It's having our diplomats walk into buildings around the world and be respected because they have the confidence and trust of the American people.
And it means leading with our values. That's what I want to close on today.
At our best, the United States is a country with integrity and a heart. That's what makes us proud to be Americans and why so many people around the world have given everything to become Americans. That includes members of my own family, and many of your families, too.
The Biden administration's foreign policy will reflect our values.
We will stand firm behind our commitments to human rights, democracy, the rule of law. And we'll stand up against injustice toward women and girls, LGBTQI people, religious minorities, and people of all races and ethnicities. Because all human beings are equal in rights and dignity, no matter where they live or who they are.
We will respect science and data, and we will fight misinformation and disinformation, because the truth is the cornerstone of our democracy.
We'll work with Congress whenever we can – on the take-off, not just the landing – because they represent the will of our people, and our foreign policy is stronger when the American people support it.
We'll build a national security workforce that reflects America in all its diversity, because we're operating in a diverse world, and our diversity is a unique source of strength that few countries can match. When we don't have a diverse team, it's like we're conducting diplomacy with one arm tied behind our back. This is a national security imperative and a personal priority for me.
We will bring nonpartisanship back to our foreign policy. There was a time, as the saying goes, when politics stopped at the water's edge. Secretaries of State didn't represent Democrats or Republicans. We represented all Americans. Some might think the idea is quaint now. Well, I don't. And the President doesn't either.
We will balance humility with confidence. I have always believed they should be the flip sides of America's leadership coin. Humility because we aren't perfect, we don't have all the answers, and a lot of the world's problems aren't mainly about us, even as they affect us. But confidence because America at its best has a greater ability than any country on Earth to mobilize others for the common good and for the good of our people.
Above all, we'll hold ourselves accountable to a single, overarching measure of success: Are we delivering results for you?
Are we making your lives more secure and creating opportunities for your families? Are we protecting the planet for your children and grandchildren? Are we honoring your values, and proving worthy of your trust?
It's the honor of my life to serve as your Secretary of State. And I'm aware every day that we're writing the next chapter of our history. It's up to us whether the story of this time will be one of peace and prosperity, security and equality; whether we will help more people in more places live in dignity and whether we will leave the United States stronger at home and in the world.
That's our mission. That's our opportunity. We will not squander it.
We serve the American people. And we will do everything we can to make you proud.