We Need a New Foreign Policy
The Bush administration’s foreign policy is pushing our country, and the world, in a dangerous direction. The invasion of Iraq is the most visible aspect of a foreign policy that has become increasingly aggressive and unilateral. Here’s why our country needs a foreign policy more aligned with American values:
US arms sales and military aid bolster human rights abusers and backfire on Americans.The US leads the world in arms sales and military training to countries that abuse human rights. The Bush administration has expanded arms sales and military assistance to countries like Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Both have histories of torturing their own citizens, suppressing political opposition and the media, and religious persecution. While our own State Department has found military and police forces in the Philippines guilty of human rights violations, US arms sales and military aid to the Philippines continue to rise.
As a result of a “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” mentality, the US has armed and/or trained Osama bin Laden, Saddam Hussein and Manuel Noriega. The war on Iraq marks the seventh consecutive time that US troops have been sent into battle against opposition armed with US weapons. Prior to war and/or military intervention, the US provided arms to Iraq, Afghanistan, Yugoslavia, Haiti, Somalia, and Panama.
US policies increase the danger posed by nuclear weapons.In March of 2002, the details of the administration’s “Nuclear Posture Review” –a policy statement that outlines radical changes for US nuclear policy – were leaked to the press. The Review calls for targeting China, Russia, Iraq, Iran, North Korea, Libya and Syria for a potential nuclear first strike. It outlines plans for a new generation of nuclear weapons and expands the circumstances under which the US will consider using nuclear weapons.
These dangerous plans lower the threshold for using nuclear weapons and encourage nuclear proliferation. In the views of other countries, the best way to avoid attack by the US is to build their own nuclear weapons. With every country —like North Korea— that “goes nuclear,” the pace of proliferation increases. North Korea’s nuclear program could lead to similiar programs in Japan and South Korea.
According to Senator Jack Reed, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, “We’re moving away from more than five decades of efforts to delegitimize the use of nuclear weapons.”
US unilateralism is increasing anti-American sentiment while weakening international law.After the September 11th terrorist attacks, the world was nearly united in its support for the United States and grief at our loss. Now, the opposite is true: anti-American sentiment has grown dramatically worldwide, even in allied countries. This hostility toward the US poses a long term threat to our security. Dealing with fanatics like al Qaeda will require global cooperation, not global resentment.
During its tenure, the administration has blocked, or withdrawn from, many important international agreements. So far the administration has withdrawn from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty; blocked enforcement of the Biological Weapons Convention; scoffed at the International Criminal Court; abandoned the Kyoto Protocol on global warming; and walked out of the Durban Conference on Racism.
While all treaties are imperfect, international lawlessness and an ethos of “might makes right” will prove far more dangerous. America will be far better off if we devote our creative and economic energies to solving problems that the rest of the world recognizes as long term threats.
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