The latest Utne Reader poses the title question: How Can America Win Back the World?
Author Hannah Lobel describes a recent scenario where President Bush proposed humanitarian relief in Darfur but it appeared to be too late for us to help much. She asks whether we have squandered our power and, if you will, political capital under this Administration. I will cut short the litany of things that have gone wrong in the last six-plus years, from Katrina to Guantanamo. We all know them too well. We also know that our position in the eyes of the world has gone down, that much goodwill toward our country has been squandered.
She then describes what must be done, and comments that this administration can not be counted on to do it, nor might they be able to if they had the political will.
Her positive program includes the following:
1. Re-engage the international community.
2. Take the lead on climate change.
3. Drop the pursuit of a more advanced nuclear arsenal.
4. Ensure that government can provide basic services.
5. Rejoin the International Criminal Court.
6. Bring back habeas corpus.
7. Commit to the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.
8. Stop torturing people.
Can you add to the list? Do you agree with the list? How much can be done with this Administration still in the White House? Assuming someone else takes over, how do we start?
Here are some recent books that relate to the subject:
Power and Superpower: Global Leadership and Exceptionalism in the 21st Century by Morton Halperin, Center for American Progress, Century Foundation.
Are We Rome? The Fall of an Empire and the Fate of America by Cullen Murphy, Houghton-Mifflin, 2007.
Statecraft: And How to Restore America's Standing in the World by Dennis Ross, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2007.
These authors refer to our country as needing to overcome our strange breed of isolationism coupled with interventionism. This would entail a shift in priorities. Murphy suggests we need to be more aware of the rest of the world, particularly as we are all connected by the reality of infectious diseases, climate change and dangers posed by failed states. We need to acknowledge reality.
As Dennis Ross points out in his book, pandemics brewing in chicken coops in Asia can land on our runways. Gasses from our SUVs can dry up Africa's arable land.
Hannal Lobel presents some hope in the Utne Reader article. She speaks of the MySpace generation, and cites examples of college students on a number of campuses who are engaging in activism and bypassing Washington. They are grouping to wage economic pressure on regimes like Sudan and China. Youth networks like Americans for Informed Democracy are holding videoconferences to improve US-Islamic relations.
She also cites a study by the Pew Research Center (January 2007) in which 62% of 18-25 year olds say the country needs to start listening to its allies and compromise when needed, compared with only 52% of their elders.
So can we just ride things out? Do we really have to? Do we have a choice?
The Center for American Progress has put together Power and Superpower, a guide to realigning ourselves with the international order.
The American Security Project has been launched, with Gary Hart at the helm, and is a bipartisan plan to foster dialogue about our real security needs.
The Center for Strategic and International Studies is devising a "smart power" strategy, to balance hard military power and soft diplomatic and economic power. They are mandated to draft a set of foreign policy recommendations for our next President's transition team. They are tapping individuals such as Sandra Day O'Connor and retired General Anthony Zinni, and sending people on "listening tours," to tap the public for ideas.
We have many pressing issues at all levels, but we can visualize the overall focus that we need, to guide us in changing direction and emphasis toward promotion of peace and justice.
(photo by DiAnne Grieser) (article posted also at http://www.democracycellproject.net)
This is reposted from Democracy Cell Project, where it was a thoughtful comment on the cross-posted version of this article. I was taken aback by it but not surprised, as it's fairly easy to document.
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The world held massive protests before the invasion of Iraq, the USA noticed and did not care. The Evidence presented before the UN was contrived, fraudulent, and fake. Only in the USA were people fooled, nobody else believed it.
From that point on, the USA had nowhere to go, it had committed itself to a Lie. The results of Iraq war are not even close to playing out...it will be 25 years before the full effects of the iraq war reveal themselves.
The world has moved on; Asia is the worlds economic engine. Europe is roaring ahead with technologies and research, Africa is developing its resources, with South America close behind. The US Dollar is at the point of collapse.
America needs to wake up and understand geopolitics do need USA in the equation any longer.
Russia is a Cash Machine, the largest petroleum seller on earth. Very soon it will be the largest LNG seller on earth ( Liquid Natural Gas). While the USA is spending a billion a day in Iraq, Russia is placing a Billion a day in the bank.
Europe Replaced the USA as the largest trading block with Asia in 2006. in 2007, Shanghai become the largest recipient of Capital in the world, replacing New York which held that title for decades.
America cannot win the world back...it can only hope it is not left too far behind.
Posted by: chinatool at July 23, 2007 01:24 PM
Posted by: not my president | July 23, 2007 at 12:32 PM