Sure is quiet around here...
There’s a lot going on…let us discuss.
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The recent activity in Zimbabwe reminds us that a freedom-spreading foreign policy is only adhered to when the US stands to gain financial or political treasure. Should the US play a stronger role in ensuring free, safe elections in Zimbabwe in the midst of Robert Mugabe’s fascist power-play to retain control of the government? For that matter, what role should the US play in African politics in general? How do foreign policy wonks sleep soundly at night while putting a smiley face on the Iraqi Freedom campaign and historically turning the cold shoulder to decades of human rights abuses in Rwanda, Dr. Congo, and dozens of other African nations?
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It is damn quiet around here. I thought it may be a bit more active near the PA primary….huh.
Orin My opinion on this topic is just as you said ” reminds us that a freedom-spreading foreign policy is only adhered to when the US stands to gain financial or political treasure.”
It is sickening!
Yeah – I think the current level of discourse surrounding the Dem primary is putting everybody off, myself included. I keep stopping by the site and thinking, “I need to start another discussion here and get things moving.” But then I pick up a paper or click on CNN, and it just makes me want to run away and live on an island.
As for the topic at hand – I certainly recognize the scatter-shot way that this country approaches foreign policy, and I agree with Keith that it often leads to some sickening results. Like everything else, there are two extremes: Colonialism vs. Isolationism, and the best path is somewhere in the middle. As a nation with many opinions and voices, it’s not surprising that everybody sets their own mark on that scale, and that’s as it should be. But we need an even foreign policy that sets our rules of conduct on the world stage and then holds every nation (even our own!) to those standards in a consistent way. Allow that foreign policy to change over time, from era to era and administration to administration, but apply it consistently to all of our neighbors. Otherwise we will continue to look like hypocrites and monsters to the rest of the world. Because as it stands it is very transparent that we enforce or ignore our own policy as we see fit, Africa being just one example.