Here are more foreign policy thoughts I would like to hear from President Obama as he attempts to reverse the effects of the Bush years, and get the world back on our side. Today’s messages are for Israel, Palestine, the EU nations and Russia.
1. To the Israelis: You have an unquestioned right to defend yourself against Hamas (and any other element bent on your destruction). At the same time, there are limits to what you can achieve through military force. Scenes of destruction wrought by Israel’s vastly superior military, most particularly the inevitable civilian casualties, can only harden already intense feelings of bitterness and hatred. This in turn serves as a recruiting tool for new Hamas terrorists and leads inevitaby to another cycle of violence. The cycle must be broken. Israel’s unilateral withdrawal from Gaza was an excellent first step towards demonstrating your commitment to ending Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories, but more needs to be done. Particularly troubling are the settlements on the West Bank that Israel has promised to halt and dismantle, but which in fact have continued to expand. It is imperative that Israel take the moral high ground and show the world that it will restrain its own militants and extremists, just as it is requiring of the Palestinians.
2. To the Palestinians: Another year has ended, and a new year begun, with scenes of devastation and chaos in your lands; the violence seems never-ending. It doesn’t have to be this way. We cannot go back in time and undo the injustices inflicted by both sides over the past 60 years; we can only move forward. No country in the world will tolerate a barrage of rockets fired into the midst of civilian populations virtually every day; until the rocket fire stops, your people will never know peace. As president, I will press the Israelis to make the concessions necessary to achieve peace. On your part, you must recognize Israel’s right to exist and you must cease all terrorist activity. It is also time to realize that many Arab dictators have an interest in seeing your conflict with Israel prolonged; it serves their purposes because they can use it to distract attention from the abuses of their own people. Ask yourself: why is it that Arabs in Israel are living better than many Arabs in their home countries, with more freedoms and opportunities?
3. To the Europeans: During the Bush years there were many reasons for you to be skeptical of American intentions and America’s use of its power; now it is time to solidify our alliances and focus intently on the common threats that we face. Perhaps most important, it is time to take a close look at your societies and the religious fundamentalists in your midst. It is Europe, not America, that is home to hundreds of extremist Islamic cells bent on attacking Western targets. Many of these would-be terrorists are your own citizens; they are estranged from European society; their grievances have been allowed to fester in mosques preaching hatred and violence. Radical Islam may not be an existential threat to the West, but the threat is nonetheless serious and must be confronted head-on. Making your societies more welcoming to immigrants, while at the same time taking a hard line vis-a-vis the most extreme elements, is the key to securing a safe future for all of us.
4. To the Russians: In many ways I can understand your desire for a more rigid and authoritarian system; people often crave order and stability above all else. We in the West who saluted and urged Russia’s transition from communism to capitalism bear some of the responsibility for the instability that ensued, and allowed much of your country’s wealth to be concentrated in so few hands. It is also understandable that a once-powerful empire sometimes feels compelled to flex its muscles and give in to its nationalistic instincts. But ultimately these tendencies are counter-productive. We live in the 21st century, in an era when power is better achieved through the sustained economic growth made possible by an integrated global economy and modern financial institutions. America has no intention of returning to a Cold War posture; on your part, Russia must realize that its true interests lie with the West. Be careful in your dealings with rogue nations like Iran, and the reassertion of Russian influence in former members of the Soviet Bloc. The collapse of the Russian stock market after the war with Georgia contained an important lesson: military incursions are not likely to yield real gains for your country, and can in fact backfire. Temper your roles in the former Eastern Bloc countries; help us insure that Iran doesn’t develop nuclear weapons; and we will help you to integrate more fully into the global economy, and achieve all that your nation and people deserve.
Jason Scorse




