America at the Brink

America now stands at the brink of ruin. Our foreign policy of the past six years has been an unmitigated disaster. The international sympathy that was once ours after 9-11 has been replaced by dislike and mistrust, if not hatred and loathing. This is largely due to our arrogance and disregard for international law, treaties, and the invasion of Iraq. All things held constant, the world could soon witness it's second collapse of a global super power to occur around the turn of the 21st century. However, if we make changes to our foreign policy, if our new elected leader in 2008 has the vision to make the necessary changes we may still maintain our way of life and our standing among nations.

Our first priority should be damage control in the Middle East. Iraq is now our greatest liability in the region, and the situation there must be resolved. To do so we must first give the Iraqi government the best chance possible for stability by pacifying the most insecure regions and laying the groundwork for the Iraqi troops to take over. We must then reposition our troops to our bases in Kuwait, Afghanistan, and Kurdish territory so that we may keep the three regional powers, Iran, Turkey and Saudi Arabia, from taking control of an unstable Iraq. Of course, some would argue that the stability that they would bring would be worth giving them the region, but that also entails the risk that there would be a major regional conflict over Iraqi territory which would be a strategic nightmare for the United States. If we are successful in containing the conflict in Iraq then we would have finished the first phase of damage control.

The second phase of damage control involves the repair of the damage that has been done to our international reputation. To repair that damage we must first shut down Guantanamo Bay. The United Nations itself has criticized our conduct there, and it's closure would serve as a strong act of good faith with our old allies. Next, we must change our outlook on the war on terror. It is not so much a physical war to be fought with guns and bombs, as a war of minds and social reform. People in the Middle East need to feel empowered and radical Islam has given them an outlet. We need to show them the damage that Jihad has done to their own brothers and sisters and offer them alternatives. That means a push for greater economic and political equality in the region; whether that's western-style democracy, more equal treatment of women, or some other type of government that is relatively egalitarian in nature. By "support," I mean financial, educational, perhaps technical, but not military. Take the Hamas and Fatah party reconciliation. We should take their reconciliation as a blessing and work out the finer details through the normal political process of negotiation and compromise.

The third phase involves the restoration of our place as a global leader. Regional powers have been flexing their muscles because of the moral, political, and physical power vacuum that the US has left. We can regain our moral authority by again taking a leadership role in the pursuit of human rights and environmental protection. The Kyoto Protocol and Darfur, Sudan would be two excellent places to start. To regain our political foothold we must reach out to our disenfranchised allies in Europe with friendship, and offer aid to the developing world. If we set several examples of sustainable economic development to show our good will, it would go a long way to show our good will. A good place to start would be Mexico, as their economic catastrophe is now ours as their citizens now reside in our borders as economic refugees. Not that they shouldn't be welcome, but it is shameful that we have let our neighbor get to such a decrepit state. Finally, our physical power must be maintained. We can not allow ourselves to be surpassed by the Chinese or Russians in military technology or strategic control over world resources. We should view their flirtation with Iran and Nigeria with particular caution and work to secure other loose alliances in order to ensure that China does not rise to challenge the United States in the near future.

Though these are far and away not the only changes that need to be made, they will at least take us off the track in which our nation has been trapped for these past few years. We must do away with the blind idealism and the reckless antagonism that has characterized this past administration if we are to bring the world back to our side. Rational thinking and realistic goals are what our country needs. We could well be witnessing a turning point of our nation, one that we will someday explain to our children and grandchildren. It is up to us to choose a leader that will turn America away from the brink of desolation, toward a better future.

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BarackObama.com | Foreign Policy Remarks at CCGA

my.barackobama.com

Tue Apr 24

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