According to the Liberal Democrats Party website the Liberal Democrats Party will try to achieve the following if they gain power at the 2010 general election:

We will put British values into foreign policy – fairness, democracy and the value of human life. We’ll put Britain at the heart of Europe so we’re a stronger force for good in the world.

Our Armed forces have had to put up with sub-standard housing, are sent into conflict without proper equipment, and are stretched to the limit. The men and women of our Armed Forces must be properly valued. We’ll make forces welfare a priority and equip our armed forces properly for the tasks of the future.

Ensuring Britain’s security – Britain should work in cooperation with other states and international bodies and respond to radical ideologies with a firm defence of democratic values combined with a willingness to engage in dialogue. We believe that preventing conflict occurring is far preferable to intervention when crises have already emerged. We support the Responsibility to Protect principle -intervention for humanitarian reasons involving wide international participation under UN authority with achievable aims and a clear and realistic exit strategy.

Make Europe more democratic, transparent and accountable – The EU has been instrumental in promoting peace, stability, democracy and human rights across Europe and has strengthened the security of the UK and is central to the UK’s economic prosperity. However, to be successful with a membership of 27 the EU must reform and ensure that its role is clearly defined and limited.

Meeting defence commitments at home and abroad – With increasing overseas commitments, our troops are overstretched; we should not be cutting the size of our armed forces whilst asking them to take on ever more difficult tasks. By switching funding from unnecessary programmes we will be able to invest more in protecting the welfare of our forces, ensuring they are well-trained and well- equipped.

The future of Britain’s nuclear deterrent – We want Britain to take the lead in working towards global nuclear disarmament at the 2010 Non Proliferation Treaty review conference. We must set an example with a 50% unilateral cut in nuclear warheads, and retain a multilateral negotiating position on further warhead reductions and systems replacement.

Meeting Britain’s promise on aid – We are committed to realising a world free from poverty. In order to help achieve the UN Millennium Development Goals by 2015 (which include eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, providing universal primary education, and combating HIV/AIDS) the UK needs to provide more effective international assistance. Liberal Democrats will increase aid spending to 0.7% of gross national income by 2011 at the latest.

I would be interested to hear both positive and negative views on Liberal Democrats Foreign Affairs, Defence and International Development policies in the comments below?