Cold War Part Deux
Fortuitously in this time of increasing global political tension, I have plucked John Lewis Gaddis's The Cold War - A New History off the top of my book backlog. It is a great read not least for the numerous delicious parellels to where we are today. For instance, the Soviets were bewildered (but happy to accept the outcome) at how the powerful and crafty Richard Nixon, who had so outmaneuvered them, could be brought low over a petty burglary (petty burglary being how Russians start the day before they get down to heavier lifting). Islamists and fellow travelers are rightly befuddled yet thrilled that dopey things like Mark Foley and wire-tapping have brought low the one US leader in decades that worked up the will to smack around those who would seek to harm America.
Also in the post-Nixon 1970s, trifling issues distracted the nation from the big picture and even led the Congress to a posture where it actively pursued reigning in the US as opposed to its enemies. Are we not here today with the caterwauling over waterboarding the likes of KSM and the SWIFT monitoring program?
Granted such comparisons are a little simplistic for broad statements (hey, this is not my day job) nonetheless these are lessons that ought to be top of mind as the Middle East gets hotter, which it surely will, and Cold War-esque alignments coalesce in our young century (Russia, China, Iran, Syria and Venezuala making a bid to be the new amalgam to the Warsaw Pact/Communist bloc). We ought to be extra self-aware of the short term bias of our democracy and try to focus our policy discussion on how the world will look 10 years from now rather than 6 months from now. We ought to be prepared to talk to our enemies but remain firmly aware that they are indeed enemies. Above all we must remember that we as Americans will rally around a role in the world grounded in decency and moral principle even if things get messy - fancy games of geopolitical chess, no matter how clean and tidy, that are devoid of nobility of spirit degrades us and ultimately weakens us.
Also in the post-Nixon 1970s, trifling issues distracted the nation from the big picture and even led the Congress to a posture where it actively pursued reigning in the US as opposed to its enemies. Are we not here today with the caterwauling over waterboarding the likes of KSM and the SWIFT monitoring program?
Granted such comparisons are a little simplistic for broad statements (hey, this is not my day job) nonetheless these are lessons that ought to be top of mind as the Middle East gets hotter, which it surely will, and Cold War-esque alignments coalesce in our young century (Russia, China, Iran, Syria and Venezuala making a bid to be the new amalgam to the Warsaw Pact/Communist bloc). We ought to be extra self-aware of the short term bias of our democracy and try to focus our policy discussion on how the world will look 10 years from now rather than 6 months from now. We ought to be prepared to talk to our enemies but remain firmly aware that they are indeed enemies. Above all we must remember that we as Americans will rally around a role in the world grounded in decency and moral principle even if things get messy - fancy games of geopolitical chess, no matter how clean and tidy, that are devoid of nobility of spirit degrades us and ultimately weakens us.
posted by Donny Baseball at 11:10 AM
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