A common theme that many critics of United States foreign policy have in voicing their objections is that the United States' foreign policy has a lack of breadth, is full of indecision, and does not adequately represent American interests abroad. Indeed, a major problem with the United States' foreign policy is exactly that: it is not clear and concise, does not finish the job, and does not adequately represent American interests abroad. This must be changed.
In order for the United States to maintain its' reputation as a global power, the nation must have a foreign policy that appears not only powerful but determined. In future situations, the United States must:
-- Ensure that we take adequate planning and clearly define our goals and interests in a conflict area before jumping in with both feet.
-- Take an "all or nothing" approach to foreign policy, especially in a situation that may potentially lead to warfare. Limited action has proven to be either disastarous or mostly ineffectual in these situations, including Vietnam, Somalia, and the Persian Gulf.
-- Eliminate the United Nations and other foreign powers from consideration when it comes to planning or implementing foreign policy. The United States must finally look out for itself first and other nations later.
The United States should not allow a recurrence of the Somalia debacle, during which the policy makers decided to switch from distributing food to chasing after Somali warlord Mohammed Farah Aidid. Not only were they unsuccessful in their repeated attempts to capture Aidid, they seriously compromised the original purpose of Operation Restore Hope and in the balance, lost the lives of many soldiers. In this situation, the United States should have been content to carry out the original mission and simply aid the delivery of food and other goods to relief agencies instead of attempting a botched manhunt.
A similar botched situation is present in Iraq as well, where Saddam Hussein still maintains a grip on power. The Iraqi people are being choked by ineffectual economic sanctions that are obviously not working. Yet Saddam Hussein was still able to consolidate his power and rebuild his forces, this past week essentially re-capturing northern Iraq and fortifying his position there. This whole situation is largely the result of weak U.S. foreign policy. Five years ago, when the United States launched their offensive into Iraq, they were able to easily crush the Iraqi outer defenses and paralyze the country. However, after freeing Kuwait, they stopped. It would have made more sense in the long run for the United States to support Shiite rebels in the south and Kurdish rebels in the north of Iraq, and to overthrow Hussein and install a provisional government in Baghdad. Such a move would most likely have been more costly in men and equipment, but would have greatly reduced Iraqi power in the region. Instead, the United States stopped its' offensive, promised the rebel forces help and assistance, and then abandoned them to face the Iraqi army alone. With little opposition to Iraq given until now, it is no surprise that Hussein has been able to rebuild most of his forces and equipment; a clear cut case of the United States not following through on a job.
Had the United States stuck to its guns, as it were, in Somalia and Iraq, it is reasonable to assume that many of the problems we faced, then and now, could have been avoided or scaled down.
However, the United States must also eliminate using the United Nations as a tool or banner to use to carry out its' foreign policy. The UN has enough trouble attempting to carry out its' own misguided foreign policy initiatives, which usually involve sending token forces from a third-rate power into a combat zone, where they then proceed to hole up in a UN bunker and be used as target practice by hostile local fighters. Turning operations over to the UN or allowing American soldiers to fight under the inept leadership of that body would be a major mistake. When vital U.S. interests are on the line, the United States must make sure that foreign policy goals are met and secured before allowing the United Nations to take control of a situation. The United States must also eliminate the actions of the United Nations from consideration when making foreign policy decisions. The current U.S. involvement in Bosnia, which has resulted in U.S. casualties and various skirmishes, is due to the failure of the United Nations and the European powers to effectively address the problem.
In short, it is high time that the United States begin to look out for the United States and its' interests, but also to do so with a sharp eye out for what needs to be done, and how it gets done. When we begin to do this, we will see an improvement in not only the results of foreign policy, but in the reputation of America worldwide. MR