THE DEMS FOREIGN POLICY MYTHS


If want a snapshot into the myths that underlie the Dem's incohernet foreign policy, here is a key snippet of Pelosi's response to Bush's foreign policy.

Instead of alienating our allies, let us work with them and international institutions so that together we can prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and keep them out of the hands of terrorists.

Myth#1: The alienated ally (which one are we talking about here anyway - the French who went out the way to spring Saddam from sanctions, or the Saudis who were real helpful before the Iraq invasion). The only evidence we have of "alienated" allies is that the same countries who didn't want to deal with the Iraq problem before the war didn't want to help out afterwards.


Myth#2: That we have international institutions capable of address WMD proliferation. A serious critique is that Bush is doing nothing to build such institutions. To say he should have counted on the IAEA to handle Iraq is nonsense.

Instead of billions of dollars in no-bid contracts for politically connected firms like Halliburton, and an insistence on American dominance in Iraq, let us share the burden and responsibility with others, so that together we can end the sense of American occupation and bring troops home safely when their mission is completed.

Myth#3: The U.S. insists on American dominance in Iraq to funnel money to Bush's cronies. First, Bush would love to end "the sense of American occupation," but wants to ensure that the building of Iraqi democracy is actually done right. Speeding along towards elections before the other essential institutions are in place is madness. And up until now, the rest of the world is pushing for just that. (The fact that Bush can dole out a little pork to his cronies is a side benefit).


Myth#4: There are somehow additional foreign troops willing to serve in Iraq if we just asked nicely, and once we do, we can bring the troops home quickly. Not even Chris Lehane believes this one.

Instead of the diplomatic disengagement that almost destroyed the Middle East peace process and aggravated the danger posed by North Korea, let us seek to forge agreements and coalitions; so that, together with others, we can address challenges before they threaten the security of the world.

Myth#5: Bush's disengagement destroyed the Middle East peace process. This is the most dangerous myth being trotted out by the Democrats. It is dangerous because it fails to recognize that 1) the process was destroyed by Arafat before Clinton ever left office, and that 2) All of Clinton's engagement at the end of the day left the parties worse off than before. The fact is that Bush's engagement (the Road Map) has been better than his non-engagement, but both were better than the Clinton's photo-op driven diplomacy.


Truth#1: Bush has screwed up pretty royally in North Korea, mostly because he his policy has been stalled by ongoing Neocon-Hamiltonian turf wars. Which of course leads to the best critique never made of Bush - that he has time and time again failed to step in when his "wise men" (and Condi) don't agree on the right course of action.