Understanding American Foreign Policy--Foresman

"...as a candidate courting his party’s conservative base, Romney has issued foreign-policy pronouncements with a harder line. He says his administration would align closely with Israel, view Russia as the United States’ primary geostrategic foe and label China as a currency manipulator. The population of terrorist suspects at the Guantánamo Bay military prison might double, and “enhanced interrogation techniques” such as waterboarding could return to the counterterrorism toolbox. A Romney administration purportedly would increase defense spending and bolster rather than shrink the size of the U.S. military. There would be no diplomacy with Iran, which would be enjoined to abandon its nuclear-weapons ambitions or else. U.S. military forces would remain in Afghanistan until the Taliban is defeated decisively." Kifield

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 While the focus is Mitt Romeny's foreign policy position, this article from the National Interest provides a very good overview of the varied and competing schools of American Foreign policy.  Foresman

Comments

[Matthew]

"A Romney administration purportedly would increase defense spending and bolster rather than shrink the size of the U.S. military."

Economics is all about managing scarcity. I thought Romney was a businessman. He sounds like a alchemist.

Now back to feeding the world from my flower box....

[William R. Cumming]

IMO neither of the candidates has a foreign policy vision that can be understood domestically or internationally!
Both are reactive only!

[Lord Curzon]

...I was going to say, and the money for all this is going to come from where exactly?

[Babak Makkinejad]

All:

The statement by Elliot Abrams; "It’s hard to think of anyone below the age of forty who is pushing those (realist) ideas anymore." reminds me of many people have stated about UK:

That no one in UK below age 30 has any manners.

Is there a connection?

[Gorgon Stared]

Cardinal Dolan to bless this holy plank at the GOP Convention

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/on-faith/cardinal-timothy-dolans-gop-convention-blessing-prompts-debate/2012/08/23/6d69c280-ed65-11e1-866f-60a00f604425_story.html

[J]

Colonel,

What do you make of this one? He (General John Allen) doesn't understand 'why'? Blink, blink, blink, blink.

Top U.S. General: We Don’t Know Why Afghan Troops Are Killing Us
http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2012/08/allen-green-on-blue/?utm

[jerseycityjoan]

I read the article by James Kitfield that you quoted from and linked to.

It was an interesting and depressing read. It reminded me what we've been doing in foreign policy and the various sides and arguments I've heard since I was a kid on to today. It's surprising and sort of dismaying to realize how much you've sort of forgot that once was big news.

Anyway, as far as Romney is concerned, here's the problem:

"“Like Ronald Reagan, Governor Romney believes that America and the world are better off when the United States leads from a position of unchallenged strength, and that our values should animate our foreign policy,” former ambassador Richard Williamson, a foreign-policy adviser to Romney, said in an interview."

While we may have military superiority and for right now we are not being challenged by anyone who can really hurt us, the world around us and our position in it has changed significantly.

The rise of China, India and other countries that were always poor changes a lot.

Our own economic woes also changes a lot.

We seem unable and unwilling to know how to behave in this age of uncertainty.

Certainly our elites are doing better and seem able to claim, defend and expand their riches, worldview and sense of entitlement in ways that are quite amazing to see. The rest of us are struggling and fearful -- if we have the sense to see our precarious position.

We should be decreasing or eliminating many of the military and financial commitments we've made to other countries -- many of whom have better healthcare and less poverty than we do.

Until we see our true selves in the mirror and not the image of the old America that is gone and can never come back, we will continue to make many errors in foreign policy as well as domestic policy.

[Hank Foresman]

Perhaps someday we will quit believing our own press releases about American exceptionalism.