ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times

DATE: Sunday, November 3, 1996               TAG: 9611050001
SECTION: HORIZON                  PAGE: 6    EDITION: METRO 
                                             TYPE: VOTER'S GUIDE 
SOURCE: BOB DEANS COX NEWS SERVICE
   
   WASHINGTON - The next American president - whether it's Bill Clinton or Bob
Dole - can expect to face a host of foreign policy challenges as he leads the 
United States into the 21st century. Here are a few likely hot spots and some 
clues as to the candidates' thinking on how to deal with them:
   
   RUSSIA
   Although the era of superpower confrontation with Moscow is over, Russia 
remains a powerful partner in the world. President Boris Yeltsin's prolonged 
illness has added a new element of uncertainty to the relationship.
   Clinton: Has bet big on Yeltsin's ability to hold together a loose 
coalition of pro-democracy reformers in the face of neo-communists, organized 
crime and economic pain. Clinton has slowed plans to expand NATO, out of 
deference to Moscow, and has refused to publicly criticize Yeltsin's bloody 
war on secessionist rebels in Chechnya.
   Dole: Warns against ``U.S. romanticism toward Russia'' and basing 
U.S.-Russia relations too heavily on Yeltsin. He calls for immediate NATO 
expansion, saying Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic should be the first 
of many new members.
   
   CHINA
   With the world's largest population, China remains a repressive communist 
state whose rapidly mounting military and economic might appear certain to 
pose increasing challenges to Asia-Pacific security and U.S. influence. Dole 
and Clinton agree on the basic point that China can't be isolated or 
contained. They differ somewhat in approach.
   Clinton: Has been unable to consistently engage China. His flip-flops on 
human rights versus trade and on the issue of allowing Taiwan President Li 
Teng Hui into this country have undermined his credibility in Beijing.
   Dole: Says he would work closely with China, confronting Beijing when 
necessary and cooperating where feasible, though his pledge to provide a 
sophisticated missile defense system to Taiwan raises hackles in Beijing.
   
   MIDDLE EAST
   After striding toward accommodation with the Palestinians, Israel has 
backtracked since conservative Benjamin Netanyahu was elected prime minister. 
As recent Israeli-Palestinian fighting has shown, the situation remains 
volatile.
   Clinton: Inherited a Middle East peace process set into motion by the Bush 
administration and has worked diligently to advance that process, overseeing a
historic reconciliation between Palestinian and Israeli leaders at the White 
House. Has negotiated intensely with Syrian President Hafez Assad, whose 
relations with Israel hold one key to a comprehensive peace.
   Dole: Has charged Clinton with ``diplomatic solicitude'' toward Assad. Dole
says the Syrian, a known sponsor of terrorist groups, should be shunned. Dole 
also pledges to move the U.S. embassy in Israel from its present location in 
Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, a move critics say would certainly ignite protests from
Palestinians, who regard the city as at least part theirs.
   
   BOSNIA
   The war is over but the peace is yet to be won. The next year will be 
critical.
   Clinton: After two years of limited and largely ineffective engagement, 
President Clinton last year spearheaded NATO air strikes that led to the 
U.S.-brokered peace accord in Dayton, Ohio. Clinton sent 20,000 American 
troops as part of a larger international force to implement the pact. Going 
forward, most of those troops are expected home by early January; a smaller 
force, however, is likely to remain for up to two years.
   Dole: A vocal Bosnia hawk, Dole opposed the use of U.S. ground forces but 
for years advocated U.S.-led air strikes against Bosnian Serbs and U.S. 
weapons and training for the Bosnian forces. Dole blames Clinton's ``failure 
of leadership and vacillating policies'' for prolonging the war and enabling 
Iran to gain a foothold in southern Europe through illicit arms shipments 
secretly winked at by Clinton at a time when the White House publicly opposed 
lifting an international arms embargo against Bosnia.
   
   IRAQ
   Saddam Hussein remains a nemesis who could destabilize the strategically 
vital oil-rich Persian Gulf region.
   Clinton: Has continued the Bush administration policy of trying to keep 
Saddam in a box. When Saddam last month seized control of Kurd-dominated 
northern Iraq for the first time since his Gulf War defeat, Clinton's response
was to knock out some air defense sites with cruise missiles and to extend the
southern no-fly zone 60 miles north to the outskirts of Baghdad.
   Dole: Has criticized Clinton for losing control of northern Iraq, but has 
stopped short of saying he would have put troops on the ground to break up 
Kurdish infighting. It's not clear how Dole would have responded differently 
from Clinton.
   
   NORTH KOREA
   A hardline Stalinist state little understood by Washington, North Korea 
continues to pose a regional security threat that's hard to gauge.
   Clinton: Has used a carrot and stick approach. He offers low-level 
diplomatic talks with North Korea in exchange for its vows to halt its alleged
nuclear weapons program and allow international inspectors to verify the 
freeze. It appears to be working. The stick: buttressing the capabilities of 
some 37,000 American troops based in South Korea.
   Dole: Has slammed Clinton's dealings with Pyongyang. ``A bad deal is often 
much worse than no deal,'' Dole said in a May 9 speech to the Center for 
Strategic & International Studies, a Washington think tank. He said North 
Korea should be cut off from all U.S. contact and should be made to negotiate 
directly with its arch-rival, South Korea, a proposition Pyongyang has 
repeatedly rejected.
   
   LIBYA
   A terrorist state the Pentagon believes is manufacturing chemical weapons 
in an underground bunker, Libya appears to be poised for strong U.S. action 
aimed at shutting down the facility.
   Clinton: Clinton's Defense Secretary, William Perry, has hinted at a 
sophisticated air strike if Libya continues its chemical weapons production, 
but so far Libya has not been hit.
   Dole: In a September speech, Dole said that state-sponsored terrorism ``is 
strategic crime, a form of war, and must be responded to accordingly,'' 
implying that he would take military action against the Libyans. ``We will 
follow the principle enunciated by Ronald Reagan when he retaliated against 
Libyan attacks on Americans in Germany,'' Dole said, referring to the bombing 
raids Reagan ordered against Libya in 1986.

GLOBAL HOTSPOTS NEXT PRESIDENT WILL FACE

LENGTH: Long  :  122 lines