By
Andrew Bacevich
July 20,
2020
When
Americans elect a president, they choose a commander in chief. For that reason,
as they consider who should lead the nation, issues of war and peace are often
front and centre. Not this time.
Shiite Houthi tribesmen in Sana, Yemen, in 2019. The U.S. policy of
backing Saudi Arabia against Iran in the region has underwritten violence and
put innocents in the crossfire. (Hani Mohammed / Associated Press)
----
As the 2020
election approaches, domestic concerns the COVID-19 pandemic, acute economic
distress and demands for reckoning with pervasive racism are crowding out
questions related to the nation’s global role.
But to
ignore what is happening beyond our borders is to overlook this important
truth: Since the end of the Cold War, now three decades ago, the United States
has lost its way in the world. Under President Trump, things have only gotten
worse.
Today,
foreign policy defined as a principled and consistent pattern of behaviour has
ceased to exist. All that remain are noise and gestures, baffling our
traditional allies and delighting those eager to take advantage of the bedlam
that currently prevails in Washington.
The
essential problem is twofold: Those responsible for charting post-Cold War US
policy have misconstrued core US interests. And they have vastly overestimated
and therefore recklessly misused American military power.
Trillions
Expended Since 9/11
In no part
of the world is this dual failure more in evidence than in the Middle East. The
proof? The trillions expended since 9/11 with next to nothing to show in
return.
With the
possible exception of Vietnam, no foreign policy initiative in all of US
history can match the global war on terrorism for producing results so
radically at odds with declared intentions.
So, there
is a pressing need to reassess US policy toward the Middle East. Waiting for a
more convenient occasion is not an option.
Any such
reassessment will necessarily begin with a realistic appraisal of US interests.
Realism does not mean walking away from the region. It does mean approaching
the Mideast in different ways.
A primary
goal of US policy should be to restore stability to a region. Stable in this
context is synonymous with mutual coexistence.
“Peace” in
the Middle East won’t look like peace in Europe. But simply encouraging a
cessation of war and promoting greater economic integration constitutes a
worthy goal.
An
Honest Broker
To promote
stability, the United States should reposition itself as an honest broker,
committed to solving problems through diplomacy and dialogue. That implies a
willingness to talk to all parties. The Black Lives Matter movement serves as a
sharp reminder that we have our work cut out for us here at home.
As for
governments abroad that abuse human rights, the United States should hold all
offenders equally accountable. A new paradigm for US policy in the Middle East
ought to revisit the terms of the US-Israeli special relationship.
Israel in
2020 is not the young and vulnerable nation with which the United States forged
a special relationship decades ago. It is today vastly stronger and its enemies
fewer and weaker. The only nation in the Middle East possessing a nuclear
strike capability, Israel also has the region’s most effective military forces.
It is fully
capable of defending itself by itself, without a $3.5-billion annual subsidy
courtesy of the American taxpayer.
Disregarding
US objections, successive Israeli governments have pursued a policy of creating
illegal colonies on the West Bank. In doing so, they have effectively
eliminated the possibility of creating a viable Palestinian state. The United
States should not ratify or endorse that result.
In sum: No
pariahs, no free passes, no special privileges.
And no
magical solutions. There are none. But there is no ignoring this reality: The
existing architecture of US foreign policy is nearing collapse, and nowhere
more than in the Middle East.
Acting now
to devise a replacement is imperative. The election of 2020 provides the right
occasion to do just that.
Andrew
Bacevich, a contributing writer, is president of the Quincy Institute for
Responsible Statecraft
Original
Headline: Vote in November to help the U.S. find its way in the world again
Source: The Los Angeles Times
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