Robert Kagan, a man I read as regularly as I can, with an article in the Washington Post.(Reg. required) He is associated with another magazine I subscribe to, Foreign Policy.
Faced with that reality, conservatives and even neoconservatives can be heard muttering these days that if the Iraqis won’t take responsibility for their own country, we should leave them to their fate. That is what “lowering our sights” really means.
What will be the exit strategy? And will it work?
It is well worth a look.
Comments
3 responses to “'Lowering Our Sights'”
Kagan? Author of the diatribe “Paradise and Power”, the most over-rated piece of slapdash international affairs analysis I’ve ever read? Think I’ll give this particular article a miss, thanks very much.
Well everyone is entitled to their opinion – but theres no doubting that Paradise and Power has caused a huge amount of debate – including dissent – as you express.
I do think he has captured the cdauses of the U.S./Europe split very well. It also seemed to me to be the most useful book I’ve come across for understanding the cultural roots of Irish neutrality.
Given that we’ve hitched a completely free ride for national defence from our geographic position straddling the air- and sea-lanes between the U.K. and U.S., I’m not surprised we see even the collective security of NATO during the Cold War (even when we didn’t have an embassy in Moscow!) as something dirty and sinful with which we on this holy island won’t contaminate ourselves.
BTW, juicy blog Gavin!