Foreign Policy

This past spring, motivated by current events and President Barack Obama's unexpected declaration that Israel should return to its 1967 borders "with swaps," I flew to Washington D.C to hear the President, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and many other leaders address the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). Israel is a constantly threatened beacon of freedom and democracy in a terrible neighborhood called the Middle East.

Editor's Note: Michael Ledeen is a Freedom Scholar at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, and author of more than 25 books, most recently Accomplice to Evil; Iran and the War Against the West.

With significant leadership by the United States, the United Nations was founded on high ideals. The pursuit of international peace and development, and the promotion of basic human rights, are core, historic concerns of the American people. At its best, the U.N. can play an important role in promoting U.S. interests and international security. But what we have been witnessing from the UN is a widespread failure to address the severe threats posed by rogue regimes, hold human rights abusers accountable, protect funds from being misused, stolen, or squandered, and police itself.

In the sixty-five years since the end of World War II the most significant and formative single event in American history- beyond any question- is the Vietnam War.  It reshaped our domestic politics, foreign policy, military doctrines, and popular culture in ways that still resonate powerfully nearly two generations after it ended.

"The United States is only one superpower. Today they lead the world. Nobody has doubts about it, militarily….They also lead economically, but they're getting weak….But they don't lead morally and politically anymore. The world has no leadership. The United States was always the last resort and hope for all other nations. There was the hope, whenever something was going wrong, one could count on the United States. Today, we lost that hope."

-Lech Walesa

Writing in this space in May (“Afghanistan: The Untold Story”) I noted President Obama’s oft stated assertion that Afghanistan was the “right war”, the one we “had to win” and commended his decision to send an additional 17,000 troops. I concluded optimistically saying that “In continuing along this necessary road of many difficult steps he deserves our strongest support”.

President Obama has consistently labeled Afghanistan the war America cannot afford to lose. Last March, he announced a “stronger, smarter and comprehensive strategy,” undertaken after “a careful policy review,” and subsequently hand-picked one of America’s most respected military officers, General Stanley McChrystal, to lead the effort.