Who will be the next ‘America First’ president?
:hen 3resident -oe Biden announced he would withdraw all 8.S. troops from Afghanistan by the 20th anniversary of 11, GO3 hawks like Sens. Mitch Mc&onnell and /indsey Graham responded predictably.
“Grave mistake,” muttered Mc&onnell.
“,nsane,” said Graham, “dumber than dirt and... dangerous.”
Of more interest were the responses of conservative Republicans who commended the president. Among them were Sens. Rand 3aul, 7ed &ruz, -osh +awley and ex-Secretary of State Mike 3ompeo, a group that contains several potential candidates for the GO3 nomination in 202 .
'onald 7rump himself weighed in Sunday, saying Biden¶s decision was “wonderful,” but -oe should have stuck to 7rump¶s May 1 deadline for withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Adding a veteran¶s voice to the broad consensus was the American /egion which called for an end to America¶s “forever war,” and repeal of congressional authorizations to fight this war.
:hile many older Republican leaders remain wedded to a Bush foreign policy, some of the prospective leaders of the party seem to be adopting their own versions of “America First.”
Opportunity may be at hand. 7he door may be open for a leader to articulate a new 8.S. foreign policy vision, beginning with a review of our &old :ar commitments that became irrelevant with the collapse of the Soviet (mpire and breakup of the Soviet 8nion three decades ago.
&onsider. 1A7O, which dates back to 1 , today contains 0 allied nations, while 8.S. security treaties with South .orea, -apan, the 3hilippines, Australia and 1ew =ealand all date back to the 1 0s.
+ow do all these war guarantees to other nations secure our vital interests, when our first vital interest is to stay out of any great war?
According to 7he 1ew Almost half of Republicans surveyed agreed that the “8nited States is rich and powerful enough to go it alone, without getting involved in the problems of the world.” A survey by pollster 7ony Fabrizio found that “only percent of Republicans prioritize national security and foreign policy issues.” 7he opportunity is transparent. As domestic concerns are predominant ± ± the &O9,'-1 pandemic, the invasion across our Southern border, soaring crime rates, race relations as raw as they have been in decades ± ± it is time for 8.S. statesman to look out for America and Americans first, and let the world look out for itself. Biden is a perfect foil ± ± a trans-nationalist and globalist committed to the whole panoply of old security treaties and war guarantees that had existed for a generation even before he came to :ashington 0 years ago. 7he favorable reaction to his pullout from Afghanistan should have told Biden that. And it should tell Republicans that now may be the time to seize the moment. /et Republicans openly reject the Biden administration¶s unilateral commitments to fight &hina for tiny reefs claimed by the 3hilippines in the South &hina Sea and -apan in the (ast &hina Sea. And, surely, it is time for that “agonizing reappraisal” of 1A7O promised by Secretary of State -ohn Foster 'ulles in the 1 0s. :hy are we still committed, under 1A7O, to go to war with Russia on behalf of Germany, when the Germans, with their 1ord Stream 2 pipeline, are doubling their dependency on Russia¶s natural gas? According to the Atlantic &ouncil 3resident Richard +aas, the 8.S. should abandon its policy of “strategic ambiguity” as to what we would do if &hina attacks 7aiwan ± ± and make a commitment to defend 7aiwan. But why should the 8nited States commit to a war with &hina for an island 3resident Richard 1ixon conceded in 1 2 was part of &hina? Among the reasons 7rump won in 2016 is that he offered a foreign policy of easing tensions with 9ladimir 3utin¶s Russia, getting us out of the endless wars of the Middle (ast, and making free-riding allies pay the cost of their own defense. But, again, why surrender our freedom to decide whether to fight? As for South .orea, -apan and 7aiwan, each could build a nuclear deterrent, as ,srael, 3akistan and ,ndia have done. ,f a war were to be fought with &hina that could go nuclear, why would we want to be a mandatory participant? Among the reasons the 8.S. emerged victorious in the 20th century was that we stayed out of the two world wars longer than any of the other great powers. “'on¶t ever take a fence down until you know the reason it was put up,” wrote G. .. &hesterton. Sound advice. But some of these fences were built before most Americans were born, and the world has changed.