America- Don't Get Mad
Op-ed by former Deputy Secretary of State (under Colin Powell) Richard Armitage and international relations scholar Joseph Nye on how we need to embrace "soft power" (a phrase coined by Nye) and work more collaboratively with the world. Well, maybe this is right, maybe its not. I find the interesting thing about the Bush Administration is how loudly it speaks while now carrying a relatively small stick. Quite the inverse from what we should be doing (and what Bush attempted to do in the wake of 9/11). No doubt power atrophies as time wears on. With the 2008 Presidential race already taking what amounts to center stage, it is getting tougher for President Bush to control the agenda.
At any rate, I am all about "talking to enemies" provided we always have the stick ready and apparent. Right now, we are simply not credible with what is perceived as a lame duck Presidency that seems to have a hard time controlling its own bureacracy combined with a stretched military and multiple looming fiscal crises from a devaluing dollar, to high oil, to the subprime mortgage mess.
We need to bide our time, speak nicely for awhile and recover our "hard power" and then deploy it judiciously. This will make our "soft" power much more meaningful than it is at the moment.
Here is another piece, lamenting the "militarization" of our foreign policy.
Comments