Does the US still care?
Jun 15, 2018 23:22:43 #
Since Reagan, it was presumed U.S. foreign policy would follow 1 of 2 directions: 1) The U.S. would continue as the principle defender of the international order it helped to make after World War II, or, 2) it would retreat from its overseas commitments, drop its global responsibilities, stop looking outside its boundaries, and begin t***sition toward a post-American-influenced world order. The 2nd path was a U.S. foreign policy that first appeared under President Obama, and most saw the e******n of Donald Trump as another step toward withdrawal.
It seems there was a 3rd option: The U.S. as rogue superpower, with features of both of the first 2 options; neither isolationist nor internationalist, neither withdrawing nor declining, but active and powerful, yet entirely out for itself and itself, alone. Recently, on trade, Iran, NATO defense spending and even on North Korea, Trump has shown that a president willing to throw off the moral, ideological and strategic restrictions that seemed to limited U.S. actions in the past, can bend this intractable world to his will, if only for a while.
Trump isn’t only neglecting the established world order; he is milking it for his own narrow gain, rapidly destroying the trust and sense of common purpose that have held it together and prevented international chaos for 70+years. The “successes” he claims he is scoring — if they are truly “successes” — derive from his willingness to do what past presidents have not only chosen to do, but have refused to do: i.e., exploit the great disparities of power built into the postwar order, especially at a huge cost to our allies.
Historically, at the center of that world order was a “grand bargain,” namely, global peace. To ensure the global peace that America and our allies wanted, especially after 2 world wars, the U.S. became the primary provider of a secure Western Europe and East Asia. In Europe, our security guarantee made intra-European integration possible as well as provided political, economic and psychological safe-guards against another regression into the continent’s destructive past. In East Asia, the American guarantee ended the cycle of conflict that had embroiled Japan and China and their neighbors in almost constant warfare since the late 19th century.
The security bargain had an economic dimension, too. The Allies could spend less on defense and more on strengthening their economies and social welfare systems. This, too, was in line with American goals. The U.S. wanted allied economies to be strong, to be able to counter extremism on both the left and right, and to prevent, both, the arms races and geo—political competitions that had led to many past wars over the centuries.
Additionally, in the spirit of compromise, in fairness and in deference to our allies, the U.S. would not insist on winning every economic contest or every trade deal. The perception by the other powers that they had a reasonably fair chance to succeed economically and sometimes even to surpass the United States — as Japan, Germany and other nations did at various times — was part of the glue that held the post-world war order together.
This bargain was the foundation of a “liberal” world order that benefited all participants, including the United States. (Also, before the word “liberal”was changed to mean something bad by conservatives.) However, it still left the U.S.’ allies open to harm, to which they remain in harm’s way, today. They count on the American security guarantee and on access to the U.S.’ vast market — its prosperous consumers, financial institutions and innovative entrepreneurs.
In the past, U.S. presidents were unwilling to exploit this leverage. They believed the U.S. had a stake in upholding the liberal world order, even if it meant abiding by or paying lip service to international rules and institutions to provide that reassurance. The flip-side of the coin was to return to the great-power clashes of the past, from which the U.S. would/could never hope to remain uninvolved. To avoid a world of war and chaos, the U.S. was, up to a point, willing to play the part of Gulliver, tied down by the Lilliputians’ ropes, in the interest of reassuring and holding the democratic communities together. Europeans, and others, may have found the U.S. selfish and overbearing, too eager to use force and too willing to pursue its own goals, unilaterally, but even President George W. Bush’s America cared about them, if only because Americans had learned through painful experience that they had no choice but to care.
The U.S.’ allies are about to find out what unilateralism actually looks like and what the real exercise of U.S. hegemony feels like. Why? Because Trump’s America couldn’t care less. It isn’t restrained by anyone’s historical memory. It doesn’t sense any moral, political or strategic commitments. It feels unencumbered to chase after goals without any regard to the effect on allies or, for that matter, the rest of the world. It has no sense of responsibility to anything beyond its own borders or spheres of influence.
Is this what the majority of the American people want? Maybe. Many, these days, call for greater “realism” and less “idealism” in U.S. foreign policy. So, you asked for it, you got it, here it is. Trump’s policies are pure Trumpian realism, devoid of ideals and sentiment, pursuing a narrow “national interest,” oftentimes thinly veiled and justified in terms of “national security,” yet defined strictly in terms of dollars and cents and as a defense against foreign attack. Trump’s world-view is a struggle of all-against-all. There are no relationships based on common values in his world. There are merely t***sactions/deals determined by power. However, it’s the same world that, only a century ago, brought us 2world wars and a host of smaller, regional wars. But, don’t let a short memory of history get in the way of Trump’s self-defeating ideals on his way to self-enrichment, coupled with a YUGE dose of narcissism.
The U.S.’ adversaries will do well in Trump’s world, for Trump’s America does not want a “hot war” since too much good, useable real estate will be destroyed. As shown since his e******n, Trump’s U.S. will bend over backwards to accommodate and yield to powers it believes can harm it and, by extension, Trump’s visions of self-enrichment. As shown, most recently, in Singapore, Trump will go to extra lengths to appease and praise tyrants, even to the point of saluting the commanding general of the army, of a country, that has sworn to destroy us. Again, most recently in Singapore, Trump has demonstrated that his U.S. will pay them all of the respect and honors they crave and even grant them their own, special spheres of influence and interest; no matter how much it contradicts past U.S. policy, precedent and even his own favorite, “national security.”and, what did the “World’s Best Deal-maker” get in return? A statement of “commitment toward denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.” No timetable. No on-site verification or inspections. No concrete anything. BUT! Trump did say that the military exercises we held annually were “provocative” (to use the exact words of the North Koreans and Chinese) and agreed to halt them for the time being. Oh yea! That sounds exactly like what a “great deal” is supposed to look like. NOT!!!
Conversely, those that rely on the U.S., meanwhile, get to be be treated to insults and disdain, lied to and lied about, pushed around, and, used as pawns against one another. At times, they will even be held hostage, to be traded for U.S. gain. As mentioned above, the U.S. and the postwar liberal order protected them and helped them prosper, but, it also left them susceptible to any American president who is willing to offer them up as sacrifices to appease aggressors. That is a kind of “not-so-kind realism.”
The United States rejected this approach to the world after 1945, choosing instead to take a more broad, and “enlightened” view of its interests. It built and defended a world order based on the idea that Americans would be safe only if our shared democratic and liberal values were safe. It regarded its interests and ideals as intimately bound together with those whom we were allied and, its democratically-based and mutually-serving alliances were considered to be permanent fixtures.
But that was a choice. The U.S., with all its great power, could have gone in a different direction. And now, it appears that we have done so, sadly, much to the chagrin of most of us.
Based on an article by Robert Kagen
It seems there was a 3rd option: The U.S. as rogue superpower, with features of both of the first 2 options; neither isolationist nor internationalist, neither withdrawing nor declining, but active and powerful, yet entirely out for itself and itself, alone. Recently, on trade, Iran, NATO defense spending and even on North Korea, Trump has shown that a president willing to throw off the moral, ideological and strategic restrictions that seemed to limited U.S. actions in the past, can bend this intractable world to his will, if only for a while.
Trump isn’t only neglecting the established world order; he is milking it for his own narrow gain, rapidly destroying the trust and sense of common purpose that have held it together and prevented international chaos for 70+years. The “successes” he claims he is scoring — if they are truly “successes” — derive from his willingness to do what past presidents have not only chosen to do, but have refused to do: i.e., exploit the great disparities of power built into the postwar order, especially at a huge cost to our allies.
Historically, at the center of that world order was a “grand bargain,” namely, global peace. To ensure the global peace that America and our allies wanted, especially after 2 world wars, the U.S. became the primary provider of a secure Western Europe and East Asia. In Europe, our security guarantee made intra-European integration possible as well as provided political, economic and psychological safe-guards against another regression into the continent’s destructive past. In East Asia, the American guarantee ended the cycle of conflict that had embroiled Japan and China and their neighbors in almost constant warfare since the late 19th century.
The security bargain had an economic dimension, too. The Allies could spend less on defense and more on strengthening their economies and social welfare systems. This, too, was in line with American goals. The U.S. wanted allied economies to be strong, to be able to counter extremism on both the left and right, and to prevent, both, the arms races and geo—political competitions that had led to many past wars over the centuries.
Additionally, in the spirit of compromise, in fairness and in deference to our allies, the U.S. would not insist on winning every economic contest or every trade deal. The perception by the other powers that they had a reasonably fair chance to succeed economically and sometimes even to surpass the United States — as Japan, Germany and other nations did at various times — was part of the glue that held the post-world war order together.
This bargain was the foundation of a “liberal” world order that benefited all participants, including the United States. (Also, before the word “liberal”was changed to mean something bad by conservatives.) However, it still left the U.S.’ allies open to harm, to which they remain in harm’s way, today. They count on the American security guarantee and on access to the U.S.’ vast market — its prosperous consumers, financial institutions and innovative entrepreneurs.
In the past, U.S. presidents were unwilling to exploit this leverage. They believed the U.S. had a stake in upholding the liberal world order, even if it meant abiding by or paying lip service to international rules and institutions to provide that reassurance. The flip-side of the coin was to return to the great-power clashes of the past, from which the U.S. would/could never hope to remain uninvolved. To avoid a world of war and chaos, the U.S. was, up to a point, willing to play the part of Gulliver, tied down by the Lilliputians’ ropes, in the interest of reassuring and holding the democratic communities together. Europeans, and others, may have found the U.S. selfish and overbearing, too eager to use force and too willing to pursue its own goals, unilaterally, but even President George W. Bush’s America cared about them, if only because Americans had learned through painful experience that they had no choice but to care.
The U.S.’ allies are about to find out what unilateralism actually looks like and what the real exercise of U.S. hegemony feels like. Why? Because Trump’s America couldn’t care less. It isn’t restrained by anyone’s historical memory. It doesn’t sense any moral, political or strategic commitments. It feels unencumbered to chase after goals without any regard to the effect on allies or, for that matter, the rest of the world. It has no sense of responsibility to anything beyond its own borders or spheres of influence.
Is this what the majority of the American people want? Maybe. Many, these days, call for greater “realism” and less “idealism” in U.S. foreign policy. So, you asked for it, you got it, here it is. Trump’s policies are pure Trumpian realism, devoid of ideals and sentiment, pursuing a narrow “national interest,” oftentimes thinly veiled and justified in terms of “national security,” yet defined strictly in terms of dollars and cents and as a defense against foreign attack. Trump’s world-view is a struggle of all-against-all. There are no relationships based on common values in his world. There are merely t***sactions/deals determined by power. However, it’s the same world that, only a century ago, brought us 2world wars and a host of smaller, regional wars. But, don’t let a short memory of history get in the way of Trump’s self-defeating ideals on his way to self-enrichment, coupled with a YUGE dose of narcissism.
The U.S.’ adversaries will do well in Trump’s world, for Trump’s America does not want a “hot war” since too much good, useable real estate will be destroyed. As shown since his e******n, Trump’s U.S. will bend over backwards to accommodate and yield to powers it believes can harm it and, by extension, Trump’s visions of self-enrichment. As shown, most recently, in Singapore, Trump will go to extra lengths to appease and praise tyrants, even to the point of saluting the commanding general of the army, of a country, that has sworn to destroy us. Again, most recently in Singapore, Trump has demonstrated that his U.S. will pay them all of the respect and honors they crave and even grant them their own, special spheres of influence and interest; no matter how much it contradicts past U.S. policy, precedent and even his own favorite, “national security.”and, what did the “World’s Best Deal-maker” get in return? A statement of “commitment toward denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.” No timetable. No on-site verification or inspections. No concrete anything. BUT! Trump did say that the military exercises we held annually were “provocative” (to use the exact words of the North Koreans and Chinese) and agreed to halt them for the time being. Oh yea! That sounds exactly like what a “great deal” is supposed to look like. NOT!!!
Conversely, those that rely on the U.S., meanwhile, get to be be treated to insults and disdain, lied to and lied about, pushed around, and, used as pawns against one another. At times, they will even be held hostage, to be traded for U.S. gain. As mentioned above, the U.S. and the postwar liberal order protected them and helped them prosper, but, it also left them susceptible to any American president who is willing to offer them up as sacrifices to appease aggressors. That is a kind of “not-so-kind realism.”
The United States rejected this approach to the world after 1945, choosing instead to take a more broad, and “enlightened” view of its interests. It built and defended a world order based on the idea that Americans would be safe only if our shared democratic and liberal values were safe. It regarded its interests and ideals as intimately bound together with those whom we were allied and, its democratically-based and mutually-serving alliances were considered to be permanent fixtures.
But that was a choice. The U.S., with all its great power, could have gone in a different direction. And now, it appears that we have done so, sadly, much to the chagrin of most of us.
Based on an article by Robert Kagen
Jun 16, 2018 00:09:49 #
alabuck wrote:
Since Reagan, it was presumed U.S. foreign policy ... (show quote)
Robert Kagen is absolutely wrwong. He writes:
"To ensure the global peace that America and our allies wanted, especially after 2 world wars, the U.S. became the primary provider of a secure Western Europe and East Asia. In Europe, our security guarantee made intra-European integration possible as well as provided political, economic and psychological safe-guards against another regression into the continent’s destructive past."
The European Union is a failed socialist superstate that is financially and morally bankrupt. Socialism is s***ery, a monopoly of ideas, aka "centralized planning." The United States bailed out the EU to the tune of $16 trillion dollars back in 2009 after the collapse of the world housing market. Now they want another bailout! Sorry. Tough luck. America First!
Robert Kagen next concludes:
"This bargain was the foundation of a “liberal” world order that benefited all participants, including the United States."
This is total nonsense! The United States is not isolating itself under Trumpism, our President is mandating the rest of the world restore free markets and free people and stop its dependency upon our post WWII subsidies. The wealth of a nation is its people and their ideas, not their s***e labor on the government plantation.
Free markets work. America must lead by example.
Jun 16, 2018 02:37:48 #
Michael Rich
Loc: Lapine Oregon
alabuck wrote:
Since Reagan, it was presumed U.S. foreign policy ... (show quote)
Could you do you next line of garbage on the security and prosperity of open borders..
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