{"id":1860,"date":"2020-12-23T00:55:20","date_gmt":"2020-12-23T00:55:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/farefwd.com\/?p=1860"},"modified":"2020-12-23T00:55:25","modified_gmt":"2020-12-23T00:55:25","slug":"the-dispensible-nation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/farefwd.com\/index.php\/2020\/12\/23\/the-dispensible-nation\/","title":{"rendered":"The Dispensible Nation"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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The Dispensible Nation: American Foreign Policy in Retreat<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Allowing politics to drive strategy confuses the nation\u2019s passions with its interests. A return to principles is in order.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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By Evan Daniels<\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Politics, meet the water\u2019s edge. One sense of the old phrase \u201cpolitics stops at the water\u2019s edge\u201d is the sense that it\u2019s one thing for foreign affairs to impact politics and it is another thing entirely for political considerations to dictate strategy. The foolishness of politics-as-strategy is the central theme of Vali Nasr\u2019s The Dispensable Nation: American Foreign Policy in Retreat<\/em>. Formerly special advisor to the late Richard Holbrooke, U.S. special representative for Pakistan and Afghanistan, Nasr laments America\u2019s current vision for the world.<\/p>

Or, more precisely, the lack thereof.<\/p>

Dispensable Nation <\/em>discusses this vision vacuum in light of our current political leadership. Specifically, Nasr argues that a smaller footprint in the Middle East appears to be the only guiding light for the President Obama administration\u2019s foreign policy. Nasr considers this folly in the extreme, particularly in light of the events of the Arab Spring. But the book is no partisan screed: as an Iranian-born naturalized American and with a foreign policy insider with a front-row seat to the Obama administration\u2019s handling of Pakistan and Afghanistan, Nasr is personally and culturally aware of the conflicting political motivations in Central Asia and the Middle East in a way few experts are.<\/p>

Except A in Nasr\u2019s case that the United States lacks a coherent strategy is Afghanistan. He argues that the Obama administration\u2019s half-hearted commitment to counterinsurgency was emblematic of a crumbling rationale for continued military action, and that Obama\u2019s attempted reproduction of the \u201csurge\u201d in Iraq was mostly for show, calculated to avoid appearing weak to the American public. The half-heartedness of this strategy was confirmed with the subsequent announcement that American troops would leave Afghanistan by 2014. \u201cThe dizzying change of pace in policy,\u201d Nasr says, \u201cpresented America as indecisive and unreliable… Our only goal seemed to be getting out, first of Afghanistan and then the whole region.\u201d<\/p>

And that goal of total withdrawal, Nasir suggests, was wholly determined by politics. \u201cIn the cocoon of our public debate,\u201d Nasr says, \u201cObama gets high marks on foreign policy. That is because his policies\u2019 principal aim is not to make strategic decisions but to satisfy public opinion.\u201d<\/p><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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A principled application of just war theory\u2014rooting conflict in proper authority, good and just purpose, and the pursuit of peace\u2014would crystallize American foreign policy in a way not seen since the Cold War.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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The dangers of this approach are particularly evident in recent events in Egypt and Syria, and Nasr is eerily prophetic in his analysis. The current state of both Egypt and Syria illustrate opportunities lost by a strategy adrift in the winds of public opinion. By failing to provide early support to opposition groups in countries affected by the Arab Spring, Nasr argues that the United States missed its chance to have a meaningful influence on whatever regimes ultimately take power after strongmen like Hosni Mubarak (and now, perhaps, Bashar al-Assad).<\/p>

\u00a0\u201c[T]here is plenty of evidence today,\u201d Nasr predicts, \u201cthat the Arab Spring will produce illiberal new regimes, hybrid governments blending surviving security forces with rising Islamic parties of various hues. There will be civil wars, broken states, sectarian persecutions, humanitarian crises, faltering economies, and new foreign policy challenges.\u201d Indeed, developments in Egypt support Nasr\u2019s assertion, and the crisis in Syria may soon prove it beyond a reasonable doubt. The administration\u2019s politics-as-strategy approached has put the US on the sideline as the better-prepared, better-organized Islamist factions take over as the main source of opposition to established regimes.<\/p>

Of course, such a comprehensive critique of America\u2019s current policy demands an alternative proposal. If public opinion cannot effectively drive foreign policy, what should? Nasr believes that the world still looks to the United States for leadership, but the leadership they want is diplomatic in principle and economic in practice. Accordingly, Nasr argues the United States should give the world what it wants\u2014diplomatic solutions and economic aid. Unfortunately, throwing money at the world\u2019s problems under the guise of \u201cmore aid\u201d seems simplistic. The interests of other nations are not benevolent enough for money to solve every problem. Our policy must recognize the difference between investing in societies on a path towards responsible participation with the rest of the world and bribing governments who use their position to leverage their power however they can.<\/p>

An alternative answer may be a reinvigoration of ethical constraints on America\u2019s considerable military power. Indeed, a principled application of just war theory\u2014rooting conflict in proper authority, good and just purpose, and the pursuit of peace\u2014would crystallize American foreign policy in a way not seen since the Cold War.<\/p><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Evan Daniels <\/strong>holds a J.D. from the University of Tennessee College of Law and an M.A. in Diplomacy from Norwich University. He currently works as a judicial clerk in his home state of Arizona, where he resides with his wife, Amber.<\/em><\/p>

\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Allowing politics to drive strategy confuses the nation\u2019s passions with its interests. A return to principles is in order.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":1903,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"elementor_header_footer","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"ocean_post_layout":"","ocean_both_sidebars_style":"","ocean_both_sidebars_content_width":0,"ocean_both_sidebars_sidebars_width":0,"ocean_sidebar":"0","ocean_second_sidebar":"0","ocean_disable_margins":"enable","ocean_add_body_class":"","ocean_shortcode_before_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_after_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_before_header":"","ocean_shortcode_after_header":"","ocean_has_shortcode":"","ocean_shortcode_after_title":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_bottom":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_bottom":"","ocean_display_top_bar":"default","ocean_display_header":"default","ocean_header_style":"","ocean_center_header_left_menu":"0","ocean_custom_header_template":"0","ocean_custom_logo":0,"ocean_custom_retina_logo":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_height":0,"ocean_header_custom_menu":"0","ocean_menu_typo_font_family":"0","ocean_menu_typo_font_subset":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_size":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_unit":"px","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_line_height":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_unit":"","ocean_menu_typo_spacing":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_unit":"","ocean_menu_link_color":"","ocean_menu_link_color_hover":"","ocean_menu_link_color_active":"","ocean_menu_link_background":"","ocean_menu_link_hover_background":"","ocean_menu_link_active_background":"","ocean_menu_social_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_links_color":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_color":"","ocean_disable_title":"default","ocean_disable_heading":"default","ocean_post_title":"","ocean_post_subheading":"","ocean_post_title_style":"","ocean_post_title_background_color":"","ocean_post_title_background":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_image_position":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_attachment":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_repeat":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_size":"","ocean_post_title_height":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay":0.5,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay_color":"","ocean_disable_breadcrumbs":"default","ocean_breadcrumbs_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_separator_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_hover_color":"","ocean_display_footer_widgets":"default","ocean_display_footer_bottom":"default","ocean_custom_footer_template":"0","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"ocean_post_oembed":"","ocean_post_self_hosted_media":"","ocean_post_video_embed":"","ocean_link_format":"","ocean_link_format_target":"self","ocean_quote_format":"","ocean_quote_format_link":"post","ocean_gallery_link_images":"off","ocean_gallery_id":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[48,3,51],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1860","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archives","category-book-review","category-issue-6","entry","has-media"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farefwd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/DispensibleNation_cover.jpg?fit=1500%2C1383&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/farefwd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1860","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/farefwd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/farefwd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/farefwd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/farefwd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1860"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/farefwd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1860\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2394,"href":"https:\/\/farefwd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1860\/revisions\/2394"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/farefwd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1903"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https: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