171. The Myth of the New Isolationism
- Author:
- Jacob Heilbrunn
- Publication Date:
- 11-2013
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The National Interest
- Institution:
- Center for the National Interest
- Abstract:
- SINCE SEPTEMBER 11, 2001, the United States has damaged its reputation and national security by lurching from one war to the next. Afghanistan, which began triumphantly for the Bush administration, has devolved into a protracted and inconclusive war in which the Taliban is making fresh inroads as American and allied forces hand over security to the Afghan army. Then there is Iraq. It was purveyed by the Bush administration to the American public as a mission that could be accomplished swiftly and smoothly. Neither occurred. Since then, President Obama's self-styled humanitarian intervention in Libya has led to instability, allowing local militias, among other things, to pretty much bring the oil industry to a standstill by disrupting major export terminals. Most recently, it looked as though Syria might be Libya all over again-an American president embarks on an uncertain crusade, and Britain and France join to provide the necessary diplomatic persiflage for justifying a bombing campaign.
- Topic:
- Security and War
- Political Geography:
- Britain, Afghanistan, France, Libya, and Syria