GlobalSecurity.org - SITREP Situation Report

Posted by James Jay Carafano on 09/03/2010 :: Permalink

Does the President of the United States have a doctrine for guiding foreign policy and national security? Yes, according to a recent report released by The Heritage Foundation.

"Defining the Obama Doctrine, Its Pitfalls, and How to Avoid Them" distills the results of scanning the breath of documents, decisions, and policy statements made by the President and Administration officials.

The authors conclude that there are four tenets to the Obama Doctrine. They are:
(1) America will ratify more treaties and turn to international organizations more often to deal with global crises and security concerns like nuclear weapons, often before turning to our traditional friends and allies;
(2) America will emphasize diplomacy and "soft power" instruments such as summits and foreign aid to promote its aims and downplay military might;
(3) America will adopt a more humble attitude in state-to-state relations; and
(4) America will play a more restrained role on the international stage.

The study goes on to propose that there is a better foreign policy vision--one that is grounded in George Washington's first State of the Union address reminder that: "To be prepared for war is one of the most effectual means of preserving peace." It's a vision that is consistent with the Monroe Doctrine ideal that America is committed to the principles on which republican self-government is based. It's a vision that embodies the Truman Doctrine's support for peoples threatened with Communist aggression. And it's a vision that continues the Reagan Doctrine's "peace through strength" strategy of revitalizing the U.S. military while promoting economic growth at home and increasing support for oppressed people around the world.

What all these lines of thought have in common is the conviction that America is an indispensable nation for the defense of liberty around the world.