A long held maxim in Washington says that our national security apparatus can handle only two big foreign policy crises at once. The policy community just doesn’t have the human bandwidth or resources to cope with more than two at the same time, and even two full blown crises would be stretching it. Having served in senior government positions across several administrations, I can attest to the accuracy of this maxim. That’s why I’m worried.
Just look at what is knocking on the door of the White House Situation Room and demanding the attention of policymakers inside all at once. The standoff with Pyongyang over its missile and nuclear programs constitutes a major challenge requiring intense focus. It’s also clear that if this conflict escalates to an actual shooting war, it will dominate the U.S. security agenda and crowd out any other issue for the foreseeable future.
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WNU Editor: Michael Dempsey believes that because of a lack of commitment in resources, the U.S. is limiting its involvement in handling the foreign policy crisis that are now rapidly occurring throughout the world. His answer .... in a nutshell .... is more of the same. My response is .... more of the same? There is only so much that any country can (and should) do .... and trying to put a handle on many of these global crisis is an enormous task .... especially when one factors the resources that must be committed to such an undertaking. Is this what the American people really want? My answer is no.
3 comments:
Jimmy Carter policy.
WNU,
Your editor comment is 100% spot on. There is only so much America can do and should be expected to do. In fact, Donald Trump was elected to change this.
Candidate Trump questioned the efficacy to America of our "alliances" with countries like South Korea and Japan. He also hinted that NATO as currently constituted is obsolete and detrimental to American interests. Essentially the current nature of these "alliances" run contrary to American interests and changes need to be made. Candidate Trump also suggested we needed to renegotiate our trade agreements with China and he and his team spent much effort trying to improve relations with Russia.
Candidate Trump was right on all counts. POTUS Trump hasn't really delivered here.
Canada and Australia are doing fabulously well. I would suggest my country persue a foreign country similar to that is similar to that of those great nations.
I think all allies of the US should realise that we are part of the reason why they have depleted their resources. We in Europe for example have greatly benefited from American leadership and protection over the last decades. This doesn't mean we can't argue with or criticise our friends. We don't have to agree or partake in all endeavors our friends decide to undertake. But it means that we should be honest, start paying our dues, reward American leadership with renewed friendship and a clear sense on their side that they can rely on us to pick up our bill and contribute militarily to the safety of the world more than we do now. We'll do it our way, of course, but the clear commitment must start now. It will also, in a time of increased uncertainty, signal to the world and aggressive state actors,including north Korea and China, that the free world will not be bullied.
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