Is there an Obama Doctrine?
by Sam
In today’s Washington Post, esteemed liberal columnist E.J. Dionne praises what he calls the emerging Obama Doctrine of foreign policy:
Obama’s doctrine departs from the previous administration’s approach by embracing a longer tradition of American foreign policy. Obama insists that the United States can’t achieve great objectives on its own, even though it is “always harder to forge true partnerships and sturdy alliances than to act alone,” as he put it this month in Strasbourg, France.
This may break with George W. Bush’s style — particularly at the level of rhetoric, and especially during Bush’s first term — but it is in keeping with the traditions of Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman and George H.W. Bush. Obama insists that we do not have unlimited resources to do whatever we want, whenever we want to. We have to make choices. Thus is his buildup in Afghanistan premised on a gradual withdrawal from Iraq.
And the Obama Doctrine seeks to regain the world’s sympathy by acknowledging that while the United States is a great nation built on worthy principles, it is not perfect.
Is this really a doctrine? The Bush Doctrine is a principle: preemptive force is justified in the face of imminent threats. So is the Monroe Doctrine: European colonization in the Americas is an act of aggression against the United States.
What is the Obama Doctrine? “We can’t go it alone.”
That might be more a statement of fact than principle.
Related posts:
- The Obama Doctrine, Part Deux
- Obama & international relations
- Obama and Afghanistan
- Was Obama wrong to campaign for the Olympics?
- Is it unfair to televise an Obama speech?
ShareComments
Leave a Reply
