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Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin

(107,063 posts)
Tue Sep 8, 2020, 12:57 PM Sep 2020

Fixing our broken foreign policy is critical issue of the next president

Whoever takes the oath of office in January will confront a daunting pile of national security priorities. We face trials in every region and across every portfolio, from climate change and Chinese ambition to nuclear weapons and election security. But to tackle any of these challenges effectively, we must first restore the integrity of our foreign policy process. It will be the work of many small reforms, but here are three that should top the list.

First, we need to dust the cobwebs off our critical alliances. Since the end of World War Two, our foreign policy has been founded on the notion that American power is at its lowest ebb when we act alone. Across front after front, we have disengaged, by pulling out of the Paris accord and the Iran deal, then by pulling our forces from Germany then threatening the same in South Korea. None of these were perfect arrangements, of course, and longing for the good old days is neither feasible nor a smart strategy.

The Iran deal was never a cure all for malign behavior but a tourniquet on nefarious nuclear ambitions. The Paris accord was aspirational yet it lacks the teeth to prevent China from plowing ahead with dirty coal. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is still, in some respects, a tiered alliance not prepared for the conflicts of tomorrow. But to the extent such pacts need improving, our hand is far stronger when we have a seat at the table. Our next president must reinvigorate each arrangement, and restart the work of bolstering them, as soon as his hand leaves the inauguration bible.

Second, we need to reinvest in soft power. Our commitment to a world at peace means that hard power must be our last resort instead of our first reflex. If we want to realize our foreign policy goals, however, we must provide our diplomats with the resources to succeed. But over the last several years, the State Department has been underfunded, its mission politicized, and its ranks hollowed out, as more career staff head for the exit each day. According to a minority report from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, this administration has never had a confirmed assistant secretary for South and Central Asian affairs, even as India and Pakistan have inched toward hot conflict.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/fixing-our-broken-foreign-policy-is-critical-issue-of-the-next-president/ar-BB18PcBp

You know if Trump is reelected he's not going to fix it.

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Fixing our broken foreign policy is critical issue of the next president (Original Post) Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin Sep 2020 OP
Fixing our broken domestic policy. Dems can do 2 things at once. nt Doremus Sep 2020 #1
There are so many issues to fix. This one's a biggie. nt crickets Sep 2020 #2
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