Teddy Roosevelt Would Be Proud

Disengagement and a return to gunboat diplomacy. This is what Dale Amon is seeing as he divines the tealeaves of Bush's foreign policy over at Samizdata.net. I don't think that America will revert back to "Fortress America," but a move in that direction cannot be that bad a move.

For nearly 50 years now, we've had a massive presence overseas. We have spent billions upon billions of dollars protecting liberty and freedom (while the people we were protecting bought a bankrupt socialist government and anti-war protest signs). Given the state of politics in the world today, it is time to rethink those policies. The Europeans are big kids now, it's time to cut the cords and let them start suffering the wrath of opportunity costs.

Now I don't believe that we need to completely withdraw militarily from the world. There are many nations that would love to get the economic and security boost offered by hosting a US military base. These benefits are not insignificant and we need to attempt to make sure that they are focused on our true friends. I'm pretty sure that the Czechs or Bulgarians would love to have an armored division based in their nation. They would certainly appreciate it more than the Germans. We shouldn't completely withdraw, but we should take a harder look at who our hosts are.

The US has the ability to project force around the world on a scale unseen in world history. We should move back towards being more of a maritime (and now aeronautical) power and less of a land based power.) Like the British before us, we own the Seven Seas. And unlike anyone in history we own the skies. We just don't have the need for overseas-based troops like we did during the Cold War when the Soviets could compete on the oceans.

I think Dale has come pretty close on his reading of Bush policy. We do need to disengage from a number of the places we're in. But rather than a complete reversion to Fortress America, I think we will remain selectively engaged with a few willing partners (the British, the Australians, the Japanese and a few others). Unwilling partners like Germany will get their wish. We will leave and take all those dollars with us. We will go back to being the maritime power in the world.

Of course, with any crises nowadays, the first question asked - "Where are the carriers?" Maybe we're just going to finally admit that we're pretty damn good at gunboat diplomacy.