ECONOMICS |
EDUCATION |
ENVIRONMENT |
FOREIGN POLICY |
POLITICS |
OPINION |
TRADE
U.S. CITIES:
Belt-Tightening for United States Foreign Policy
Michael Mandelbaum
Interviewee:
Interviewer:
Partisan squabbling on U.S. spending priorities continued following the release of the
Mandelbaum, author of the book
"The Frugal Superpower: America's Global Leadership in a Cash-Strapped Era,"
says an inevitable result of deficit reductions for U.S. foreign policy will be fewer U.S. interventions abroad. Still, he stresses the need for continued military presence in
Q. How effective is the deficit commission report in rallying political support for the kind of budgets cuts needed to tackle the U.S. debt problem?
A. I doubt that this report by itself will create a political consensus in favor of the painful adjustments that will be needed. But it does give the issue of deficit reduction higher visibility and brings us closer to the moment when the country will take serious action.
Q. Do the recommendations prioritize in the right areas?
A. One can quibble with this or that recommendation, but there are two major points that are supremely important emerging from the report. One is that deficit reduction is an urgent priority for
Q. When the draft plan by deficit commission co-chairs
A. The first step is to understand that the needs of deficit reduction will require that resources for foreign policy and defense will be reduced. When the country gets serious about deficit reduction, taxes will rise and federal programs including
Q. Your latest book argues that deficit reduction will limit the scope of U.S. foreign policy. What will those limits look like, and what does that say about how
A. As a result of deficit reduction and the political climate that it will create, we will not engage in the future in the kinds of military interventions that
Q. What about the tradeoff between short-term cuts and long-term economic growth? Are we jeopardizing future investments in national security by spending less now to fuel growth?
A. There's no doubt that the best cure for a deficit is economic growth, and we should not take steps that will artificially choke off economic growth. And we should make investments that will promote economic growth in the future. There is a conflict between what is economically sensible to do in the short term, which may require more deficit spending, and what is economically necessary to do in the long term, which is to reduce our deficits. But where foreign policy is concerned, we have to think about the long term, and that means thinking about setting clear priorities.
My preference would be for more investment in genuine growth-producing programs -- especially science, technology, research and development -- on which the future of the U.S. economy depends.
Q. There's a lot of belt-tightening going on around the world right now, particularly in
A. That is a very important question, and my answer is a regretful but unambiguous "no." I do not think that our friends and allies will help us pick up the slack. They, too, are economically pressed. That means that the things
Q. Are there any foreign policy benefits to a lower-profile
A.
Q.
A. The U.S. military presence in the
Q. What other threats will arise from a reduced U.S. presence abroad?
A. The greatest threat is a much more aggressive and dangerous
Available at Amazon.com:
Hot Time in the Old Town: The Great Heat Wave of 1896 and the Making of Theodore Roosevelt
American Insurgents, American Patriots: The Revolution of the People
Broke, USA: From Pawnshops to Poverty, Inc.How the Working Poor Became Big Business
Were You Born on the Wrong Continent?: How the European Model Can Help You Get a Life
The Disappearing Center: Engaged Citizens, Polarization, and American Democracy
The Virtues of Mendacity: On Lying in Politics
Bush on the Home Front: Domestic Policy Triumphs and Setbacks
The Political Fix: Changing the Game of American Democracy, from the Grassroots to the White House
Courage Grows Strong at the Wound
The Frugal Superpower: America's Global Leadership in a Cash-Strapped Era
Read the latest political news.
- America's Hidden Hunger and What We Can Do About It
- Belt-Tightening for United States Foreign Policy
- Public Perception Masks Stark Health Care Realities
- Global Warming Conference Faces Meltdown
- America's Credibility Deficit
- WikiLeaks Disclosures Not Earth Shattering
- A WikiLeaks Wake-up Call
- WikiLeaks May End Up Helping America
- WikiLeaks and The Invisible Government
- Wikileaks: More Than Just an Embarrassment
- Wikileaks: Undiplomatic Diplomacy
- Will WikiLeaks Hobble U.S. Diplomacy?
- How WikiLeaks Can Make Us Less Free
- Wikileaks: Small Revelations That May Cause a Big Idea to Take Hold
- Hunting Down Anwar al-Awlaki, Public Enemy No. 1
- FDA Cracks Down on Caffeine-Charged Alcoholic Drinks
- The American Dream: Pro and Con
- Four Loko: Boozy Up-and-Down Makes This Loko Loco
- Crossroads on the Path to a More Perfect Union
- The Right Way to Reform Healthcare
- The Future of American Power: Dominance and Decline in Perspective
- Everybody Discriminates in Some Way
- Banks Need to Pay for Foreclosure Shenanigans
- The Distinctly American Tradition of Charity
- Giving Away a Fortune to Keep the American Dream Alive
- Public Service Groups That Are Making a Difference
- Public Service: Citizenship Is More than Paying Taxes and Voting
- Public Service Is the Antidote For Voter Anger
- Raising People's Quality of Life Drives Public Service
- Public Service: Ordinary Americans Changing Communities for the Better
- How to Make a Career in Public Service
- How to Choose the Best Volunteering Option
- Recession Driving Changes in Corporate Philanthropy
- How to Avoid Charity Scams
- The Pros and Cons of Military Service
- Compulsory National Service Would Strengthen American Citizenship
- Compulsory National Service Would Undermine the American Character
- Why China Has a Point About Quantitative Easing
- Out of Play
- Eliminating Poverty: Lesson From Childhood
- Wall Street Had a Meltdown, and All We Got (Besides the Bill) Was an Interminable Argument
- Changing Our Tune to Natural Gas
- Supreme Court's Citizens United Decision Will Warp Policymaking
- Citizens United Decision: Money at Issue Funds Speech Not Candidates
- Education and Wealth: Strongest Predictors of a Long Life
- 'Citizen Journalism' Fad is Not Journalism
- Life's Little Lows Big Part of Going to High School
- Happiness is a Matter of Perspective
- Binge Drinking Numbers Rising
- The Republicans' Bizarre Attacks on Elites
- Joe Klein and Diane Sawyer Tour the Real Reality
- Troubled Times: When Mark Zuckerberg's Generosity Is Not Good Enough
- Why on Earth Does America Want a Stronger Chinese Currency?
- A Nation of Peasants?
- Public Sector Workers Are the New Privileged Elite Class
- Raising Retirement Age Will Help Save Social Security
- Cutting Benefits Isn't the Way to Save Social Security
- How the New Consumer Bureau Will Help You
- Setting up the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
- The Truth Behind UFO Sightings and the U.S. Air Force
- American Dream of Home Ownership Has Become a Nightmare
- 5 Traits of the New American Consumer
- Stoned on Righteousness
Belt-Tightening for United States Foreign Policy
(c) 2010 Foreign Affairs