Thoughts on Foreign Policy

A blogpost I recently ran across, from the prolific NYT author Nicholas Kristof:

My Sunday column is about the need to rebalance American foreign policy, so that we’re capable not just of blowing things up but also building things up. The military is indeed an important tool in foreign policy, but there are other essential tools: diplomacy, intelligence, foreign aid, trade and information. We’ve been developing our military muscles (80 percent budget increase since 9/11, including supplementals) but our other muscles have been sorely neglected. One indication of that is that we have more musicians in our military bands than we have diplomats.

It’s interesting that SecDef Bob Gates has been the leader in calling attention to this, with the chairman of the joint chiefs right behind him on this. Gates has been giving truly astonishing speeches calling for more resources for diplomacy. The new counter-insurgency manual also is in line with this view. I think the military actually is far more sophisticated in its appreciation of the need for “soft power” than the White House or the public as a whole.

I’m posting this early because I’m getting on a plane shortly to go to China for the Olympics, so I’ll be at 30,000 feet when the column actually goes up.

This speaks right into the world where I worked this past year. I agree with most of what Kristof says, minus his point about Admiral Mullen (the JCS chair he's referring to; i've seen Mullen in action and have questioned his authenticity). Meanwhile, I get the sense that Gates is really wrestling with the implications of foreign policy when he speaks, rather than just glossing over the problems and saying that "everything is going to be alright." Far too many people are saying that these days, and promising the subject matter of pipe dreams. In such a world, Gates' honest assessment is a breath of fresh, oxygen-filled, air.

Anyway, Kristof brings up an interesting point: why are we spending so much money on the military after all? Is it really weapons and strength that are going to make our nation sustainable? Sadly, it seems like often he last thing we think about in foreign policy discussions is long-term sustainability. If we do not press beyond the status quo and instead continue living in a world of prisoner's dilemmas and war games, what kind of world have we made for ourselves or our children? When I have friends sitting around waiting for security clearances for over nine months, or other friends working for defense contractors who can barely find projects to fill their time in the office, I start second guessing our government's strategy to build rapport overseas.

Well, some things to think about...