Posted by
stevo on Tuesday, August 21, 2007 9:17:26 PM
Can the US, as the world's lone superpower (for at least another 5 years), be both strong and compassionate in its conduct of international affairs? That is a good question, and is yet to be decisively answered.
The Bush Administration will have some impressive accomplishments to its name in the realm of foreign policy by the time it concludes. It stared down the most dangerous country in the world at the time, Iraq, while bucking the opinions of corrupted foreign elites and weak-willed second-guessers at home. On top of this demonstration of principled strength, the Bush Administration had also dramatically ramped up efforts to combat the Aids pandemic in Africa, and is having a relative measure of success.
At the same time, the current administration, and the country it represents, are failing in many important regards on the international front. Resistance to Iran's incursions into Iraq, Venezuela's imperialist tendencies toward Colombia, and Russia's across-the-board power grab has been the equivalent of a feeble younger sibling crying "Stop it!" to his bully of an older brother. Whining without action only makes a body look more pathetic.
International relief is also lacking in key, easily-remedial areas. One such area is that of malaria. Tens of thousands of people in Africa are dying preventable deaths each year because of ridiculous environmental regulations that prohibit the use of DDT. There are many such issues, environmental and otherwise, that are currently en vogue with Western celebrities and result in the death of forgotten legions.
Despite several effective policies and measures implemented by the Bush Administration, the US is currently showing itself to be inept. Our determination to deter foreign aggression is lacking, and so is our willingness to consider the needs of the poor millions on their terms, without the strings of morally-askew Western ideologies. We must display a Reaganesque iron fist of deterrence, and an effective policy of open-handed compassion. We have the resources in every sector of the American economy and social sphere, but do we have the resolve?