 |
Future President’s Foreign Policy Open Thread |
 |
With Obama’s Foreign Policy Advisor Samantha Power stepping down after a couple of mis-steps and “preparedness” banter flying back and forth between the two dems ( all for the benefit of McCain), it might be time to figure out what the next president’s foreign policy should look like.
Friday’s WaPo featured a nice article by Michael Gerson on what Obama’s first 100 days might be like. He writes,
Redeeming his inaugural pledge to “pay any price, bear any burden, fly any distance to meet with our enemies,” Obama’s first major international meeting is with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran. National security adviser Samantha Power does her best to talk tough on human rights in preparation for the meeting. But, as Henry Kissinger once said, “When talks become their own objective, they are at the mercy of the party most prepared to break them off.” Having made Iranian talks “without precondition” his major foreign policy goal, Obama is left with little leverage to extract concessions, and little choice but to move forward.
But scholar and blogger Marc Lynch, offers an alternative view.
What do you think, Seminal readers? What will U.S. foreign policy look like when one of the remaining candidates takes office? And what should the policy look like?
Talks are good. Still, I’d like Obama to stand up and make a speech declaring the war on terror over. That would be an excellent start.