Self-Containment Policy

[MikeF]

Question: Would a self-containment policy or AirSea Battle, be reminiscent of Teddy Roosevelt's Great White Fleet and guarantee global public goods by patrolling sealanes, preserving the integrity of cyberspace and outer space, strengthening int'l alliances et al as a Benevolent Hegemony?

[Steve Blair]

I don't know. Roosevelt's policy succeeded in no small part due to TR himself. I'm not sure if our system will produce another statesman (or person) with that sort of international focus. It is an interesting question, though.

[Bob's World]

David Eisenhower shared a candid conversation he had with his father regarding containment. The insight Ike shared was that perhaps the most important aspect of the containment grand strategy from his perspective was that it served equally to contain our own actions as it did those of the Soviets and Chinese.

Since the end of the Cold War we see this double-failure of clinging to containment-think: First, we can't find an appropriate foe to "contain" in a manner necessary for such a policy to work; and second we no longer feel contained in our own actions.

This leads us to take on all manner of inappropriate behavior simply because we can get away with it; while at the same time desperately working to provoke some other nation to take up the role of peer opponent.

One would think it would be easier to simply design and implement a new approach better suited for the world we live in today. (oh, and "air-sea battle" is not even close to what such an approach might look like)

[MikeF]

I should have left air-sea battle out. I don't know enough about it. Very interesting take on containment though Bob.

[Ken White]

With Bob. See, even Colonels get one right on occasion...

[Bob's World]

I'll mark today up as a success. I even got a workout in.

At the risk of stumbling and screwing this all up, the word that comes to mind as being critical to a new approach is "Character."

We talk a great deal about values, and probably too little about Principles and interests; but character is a component that may well be the missing ingredient.

It is said that a person's character is defined by what they do when they believe no one is watching. For a nation that may well translate into what a nation does when they believe no one can stop them. Unchallenged power is a heady thing. Particularly when you are the guy who prays the loudest and sits in the front pew at Church and is the quickest to condemn the faults of others. Puts a lot of pressure on a person, more on a country.

I think it is time to move "character" up several notches as a criteria for foreign policy. George Washington was a man of remarkable character. Perhaps a good place to start looking for advice on national character would be his farewell address and his record in general as the first and principle shaper of our initial national character.

[Fuchs]

This leads us to take on all manner of inappropriate behavior simply because we can get away with it;

That's the grand illusion.

The bill is hefty; bigger than many possible 'obvious' punishments would be.

[Bob's World]

That's the grand illusion.

The bill is hefty; bigger than many possible 'obvious' punishments would be.

Agreed.