Thursday, May 29, 2014
Political Mayhem Thursday: The Obama Doctrine
In a commencement address at West Point, President Obama described a foreign/military policy based on "might doing right." Here is how CNN described it:
"I believe in American exceptionalism with every fiber of my being," he said, referring to a tenet of conservative ideology. But what makes us exceptional is not flouting international norms and the rule of law; it's our willingness to affirm them through our actions," Obama said in arguing that true leadership involves not only having the world's most powerful military, but in doing the right thing.
"America must always lead on the world stage," Obama said, and the military "always will be the backbone of that leadership," but U.S. military action "cannot be the only -- or even primary -- component of our leadership in every instance."
In a direct jab at his detractors, the President said those "who suggest that America is in decline, or has seen its global leadership slip away, are either misreading history or engaged in partisan politics."
I'm not totally sure what this means, other than two things:
1) Some commitment to maintaining a strong military force, and
2) Using a diplomacy-first foreign policy.
Is that meaningful? And is it any different than what the last several presidents have said?
