In an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal Elliot Abrams seeks to craft a new foreign policy consensus based on six principles:
First, American security depends on leadership. The U.S. must remain the most powerful and influential nation in the world. Tempting though it may be, threats won’t simply go away if America retreats into isolationism. On the contrary, these challenges are likely to get worse.
Second, a strong America is a safe America. The U.S. must have a well-funded, effective military and security infrastructure to protect its people and deter aggression.
Third, strategic cooperation serves U.S. interests. Robust alliances among sovereign nations and the strategic use of multilateral institutions advance American security. The U.S. alliance system is a huge asset that must be strengthened.
Fourth, free and fair trade advances the prosperity and security of the American people. The U.S. must sustain its defense industrial base, lead efforts against predatory economic practices such as intellectual-property theft experienced in recent decades at the hands of China, and promote respect for the rules of international trade and commerce.
Fifth, we support a proud U.S. foreign policy that champions American values without apology.
Sixth, foreign policy should be responsive to all Americans—not only those in Washington or with the clout to hire lobbyists. The effect of trade deals on employment, for example, should weigh at least as much on policy makers as their effect on the corporate bottom line.
I would propose just four:
- American hard and soft power is based on its economic strength. Its economic strength depends on a diverse economy in which primary production and secondary production play prominent roles. We cannot base our economy primarily on retail and health care.
- An American military that depends on imported goods cannot be a strong military.
- An over-extended American military cannot be a strong military.
- We do not go abroad in search of monsters to destroy. We are the well-wishers to the freedom and independence of all. We are the champion and vindicator only of our own.
I don’t think they’ll catch on because there is more money to be made from the way we’ve been doing things for the last 30 years.
Another way to enhance American security is to stop our aggressive stances toward Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea. Stop military exercises on their borders. The chances that our own actions might trigger a major war are actually fairly high.
And you might want to stop all the sanctions. These have benefited Russia and China by forcing them to build companies that can replace imports.