After Iraq war, resist the isolationist impulse

[babylonsister]

http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0619/p09s01-coop.html

After Iraq war, resist the isolationist impulse
No matter how the war ends, the United States must stay engaged in the world.
By Carl Minzner

New York - Sometime, somehow, the Iraq war will end. The surge may stabilize the country sufficiently to allow the withdrawal of American troops (less likely). Or the American public may simply sicken of the war to such an extent that US forces are pulled out regardless of the consequences after the 2008 presidential election (more likely). Either way, the end of the war will be the starting bell for a much more sweeping battle over the future of American foreign policy.

snip//

First, responsibility for the Iraq fiasco needs to be placed squarely where it is deserved – on the failed unilateralist, neoconservative policies of the Bush administration. It is these policies that have led the US to take a black-or-white, my-way-or-the-highway approach to the rest of the world, blackened America's image in countless regions, and isolated us from even the closest of our allies.

Second, America needs to reassert its positive role at the heart of multilateral institutions and alliances. It should not back out of them. Both the US and the world will face major challenges over the next several decades – global warming, nuclear proliferation, and a rapidly shifting balance of world power. These cannot be managed by the United States alone. They require a collective response from all nations.

Third, both Democrats and Republicans need to reassert bipartisanship in foreign policy. Particularly as the Iraq war grinds its way to a close, there will be temptations to use anti-internationalist sentiment and responsibility for the war as partisan tools for short-term political advantage. These need to be resisted. Both parties need to come together to forge a coherent vision of America's place in the world in the aftermath of the Iraq war.

It would be a pity if the failures of the Bush administration were but the precursor to even more serious foreign-policy errors in the decades to come.

• Carl Minzner is an international affairs fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.

[Demeter]

1. Lord, What a Load of Manure!

As if isolation were a possibility....it's far more likely that the world will isolate us, as they should, until this nation proves itself trustworthy enough to be invited back into the international scene on any level...

[babylonsister]

2. I don't think it's a load of manure at all. I think the author is saying

we need to be involved diplomatically, something this admin knows nor cares anything about. We need someone who will work WITH countries, not against them and their/our interests.

[bemildred]

3. What isolationist impulse?

I firmly believe we should not be getting involved in any more foreign wars, but I am not aware of ANYONE who favors cutting off contacts with the rest of the world, so I don't really see why this fellow seems so anxious about fending off that unlikely event.

[Briar]

4. What isolationist impulse?

It's just a matter of whether the US pretends to be acting for the good of the world, or baldly admits it always puts its national interest first and will unilaterally intervene as it chooses for its own benefit.