Congress Develops Its Own Foreign Policy

15 April Real Clear Politics commentary - Congress Develops Its Own Foreign Policy by Peter Brown.

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Once upon a time in Washington, D.C. there was an informal agreement that partisan political differences within the United States did not extend to America's dealings with the rest of the world.

Congress' current attempt to offer its own foreign policy marks the end of that doctrine, which, truth be told, has been on life support for some time.

How one sees this development almost certainly depends on his or her view of President George W. Bush, but clearly the once-universally accepted notion that America speaks with one voice, that of the president, to foreign nations, is no more.

The informal agreement that once existed between the two political parties not to offer conflicting signals to America's friends and foes is another casualty of the "D.C. disease" that has made bipartisan cooperation on virtually everything an anachronism...

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Hmmm ... isn't this quite an old thing? I remember Newt Gingrich visiting China and declaiming that the U.S. was going to defend Taiwan, Tom Delay visiting Israel and proclaiming U.S. support for moving the capital to Jerusalem --- items quite controversial and at odds with longstanding U.S. foreign policy regardless of party. Jim Wright injected himself into the Nicaraguan peace process. Dennis Hastert worked directly with Colombia to get their aid requests through, bypassing the Clinton State Dept. A certain Congresscritter (now paid lobbyist for the Gov of Pakistan) just had a book written about his exploits in pushing a reluctant CIA into funding the anti-Soviet jihad in Afghanistan.

yeppers to all that plus ole Charlie has a movie with Tom Hanks being made about him...

This is all do as I say, not as I have done..,