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Townhall
Obama's
Conservative Foreign Policy
Steve
Chapman
Jun
01, 2014
Conservatives
generally agree on a few propositions. The federal government should
avoid spending money unnecessarily. It shouldn't exceed its basic
constitutional duties. It should encourage self-reliance rather than
dependency. It should accept that some problems are beyond its
ability to solve.
Barack
Obama, they may be surprised to learn, agrees with much of this
formula. He just applies it in a realm where conservatives often
don't: foreign relations and national security. The Obama doctrine,
as outlined in his policies and his speech at West Point Wednesday,
is one of comparatively limited government.
Limited
government, however, is not something many conservatives champion
when it comes to matters military. They may question whether
Washington should spend billions to bring prosperity and order to
Detroit or New Orleans. But they had no objection to spending
billions to bring prosperity and order to Baghdad and Kabul.
In
the domestic realm, they believe the federal government's powers are
few and mostly modest. Beyond the water's edge, it's a different
story. When George W. Bush embarked on an extravagant project to
"help the Iraqi people build a lasting democracy in the heart of
the Middle East," Republicans granted him all the leeway he
could want.
The
Constitution says the government should "provide for the common
defense." But Bush translated "defense" to mean going
to war far from our shores against a country that had not attacked
us.
His
idea of self-restraint was saying, "The United States will not
use force in all cases to preempt emerging threats" (emphasis
added). But he insisted that "the United States cannot remain
idle while dangers gather." Any potential danger, anywhere,
anytime was grounds for an American attack.
A
more sensible view is that the U.S. can indeed remain idle while
alleged dangers gather, because most of them won't materialize. The
immortal philosopher Calvin Coolidge said, "If you see 10
troubles coming down the road, you can be sure that nine will run
into the ditch before they reach you." Many conservatives
believe in hurrying out to meet all 10 just in case.
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