Our Role in the World

Last night, I couldn't sleep so I put the TV on CSPAN and happened across a round table discussion put on by National Interest Magazine. It was a discussion of our, the United States', role in the world. Of interest were comments by Anatol Levien from Great Britain. His discussion was centered around comparing our hegemonic responsibility to that of Great Britain right before World War I. He stated that Great Britain, like the United States, was faced with a moral challenge which they had to confront. terrorism for us and Germany for Great Britain. Because of that, Great Britain lost its hegemonic power in the long run, however, he argued that it was the proper response. Unfortunately, while I agree that we are in danger of sacrificing our role in the world. I think that if we lose our power, it will be through inaction. The number one reason why Great Britain lost their power was their loss of economic power. After they lost their economic power, it was just a matter of time before they lost their military power status. What we see is a China and India who are vying for economic superpower status. If we do not act to prevent this, it will only be a matter of time before we lose our military status as well.

Another speaker, Larry Johnson (Former Deputy Director, State Dept. Counterterrorism Office), argued that we are gradually losing our military presence and significance in the war on terror because Washington's answer or internal response to the war on terror has been to add more bureaucracy to deal with it. The Bureaucracy is a reason for our initial failed response, to add more in response (TSA, Dept. of Homeland Security, Etc.) has only created a hodge-podge of various meandering chains of command that make anti-terrorism efforts more difficult not easier.

This whole discussion leads me to my overarching point. Republican principles are going to win the war on terror. We must act to make sure that we remain both the economic and military superpower. To do this, economic policies that ensure that we remain competitive with China are a must. Also, we need to streamline the excess bureaucracy in Washington dealing with counterterrorism and when it comes to the military, let the Pentagon do what it does best, win wars.