Those of you who follow this blog know one of my key tenets is: “Go Where They Ain’t”. It’s not that I’m a non-conformist, although that turns out to be true. It’s rather that crowds and the herd are generally things to avoid not just in a crisis but also in non-threatening times as well. Similarly, I tend to go where they ain’t when collecting information. And with respect to my views on everything from local to world affairs, I ask “why?” when wisdom becomes “conventional”.
So, for example, the conventional wisdom is, “We are not nation-builders.” Nation-building, by the way, means the idea of invading and occupying a land afflicted by dictatorship or civil war and turning it into a democracy. That line is dogma for conservatives and in general, I don’t believe we should be nation builders, however, when I ask “why?” I have to also think that in the absence of us “exporting freedom and democracy”, what takes place? Turns out despotic adversaries like China and Russia move in for hegemonic reasons. That’s not good.
Another bit of conventional wisdom is, “America can’t be the world’s police force.” On this matter I have to ask, “What happens when we abandon that role?” Again, China and Russia move in. Is that what’s good for society and the world at large?
“We must withdraw from Afghanistan!” I have to ask, “why?” While we maintained a presence there, as we have in South Korea, Japan, Europe and other places around the world where we’ve acted as policemen, the country wasn’t great, but look at what we have now! And I don’t think a “prudent withdrawal” would have created a different outcome from the Taliban taking over.
No, I submit we ought to think about whether we SHOULD maintain an active military presence in places like Afghanistan and Iraq and Syria and other locales where we’ve spent blood and treasure both eliminating evil and also setting up self-determination (aka democracy). Walk away and we might think we’re doing ourselves a service, but every time we’ve done so, it’s cost us more in the long run!
It boils down to this. Either we believe that freedom and democracy are good and dictatorships and terrorist-led theocracies like the Taliban are evil, or we don’t. If we believe in freedom, doesn’t it become our DUTY to export it and ensure it around the world? Or do we pull in our horns, think we can create a bulwark against it with walls and prosperity here at home, and allow other nations whose ideologies and societal norms we believe to be evil, take over?
I grew up in Europe, an American kid going to an American school, surrounded by Americans, but with local foreign friends as well. They envied us. They worshipped the United States because of the freedoms and wealth that we enjoyed. Were we to leave our bases in Germany and elsewhere in Europe, they would be terrified! Our troops provide a deterrent that keeps bad actors from taking over. Had we troops in the Ukraine, or better, in Crimea, do you think Russia would have annexed it as they have?
If we stop patrolling the Taiwan Strait (and now, weak as we appear to be, even if we KEEP patrolling the Taiwan Strait), or the South China Sea, how quickly do you think the Chinese will take them over? They’re already establishing military bases in the disputed Spratly Islands and we’re just letting them get away with it. THAT’s what happens when we adopt the position, “We can’t be the world’s police force.”
Yes we can, and yes we should. It ain’t cheap, and it ain’t easy. But if we’re going to restore our nation as the Light Upon the Hill, I think we need to reconsider our foreign policy, our influence and Sole Superpower status.
Just sayin’