The biggest threat to the United States comes not
from abroad but from within. This is the provocative,
timely, and unexpected message of Council on Foreign
Relations President Richard N. Haass's "Foreign Policy
Begins at Home." A rising China, climate change,
terrorism, a nuclear Iran, a turbulent Middle East, and
a reckless North Korea all present serious challenges.
But U.S. national security depends even more on the
United States addressing its burgeoning deficit and
debt, crumbling infrastructure, second class schools,
and outdated immigration system. "Foreign Policy Begins"
at Home describes a twenty-first century in which power
is widely diffused. Globalization, revolutionary
technologies, and the rise and decline of new and old
powers have created a "nonpolar" world of American
primacy but not domination. So far, it has been a
relatively forgiving world, with no great rival
threatening America directly. How long this strategic
respite lasts, according to Haass, will depend largely
on whether the United States puts its own house in
order. Haass argues for a new American foreign policy:
Restoration. At home, the new doctrine would have the
country concentrate on restoring the economic
foundations of American power. Overseas, the U.S. would
stop trying to remake the Middle East with military
force, instead emphasizing maintaining the balance of
power in Asia, promoting economic integration and energy
self-sufficiency in North America, and working to
promote collective responses to global challenges. Haass
rejects both isolationism and the notion of American
decline. But he argues the United States is
underperforming at home and overreaching abroad. Foreign
Policy Begins at Home lays out a compelling vision for
restoring America's power, influence, and ability to
lead the world.
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