With the re-election of President George W. Bush, American foreign policy is likely to continue with the doctrine of preemption and American interests defined as global interests, said two U.S. foreign policy experts at a lunch discussion.
At yesterday's Table Talk Lunch in Kay Spiritual Center, titled "Presidential Sweepstakes: Impact on U.S. Foreign Policy," Lawrence Kaplan and Phil Brenner agreed that Iraq would dominate America's foreign policy. Kaplan is senior editor of The New Republic and Brenner is a professor in the School of International Service.
The debate touched on foreign policy from both Bush and John F. Kerry, as well as the outcome of the election and the projection of American power.
"The Bush doctrine in general of pre-emption, regime change and hegemony would have been jettisoned had Kerry been elected," Kaplan said.
Brenner agreed that Iraq would dominate American international relations for years, although he did not support it.
"All of our foreign policy will be shaped by the war that we are pursuing," Brenner said. "We are the only country in the history of the humankind that has ever defined its vital interests as global. No other country has ever done that, and I think it's time we stop."
The question-and-answer session again brought up the issue of U.S. legitimacy and involvement in other countries.
"Either America is going to act or no one is going to act," Kaplan said. "The number of democracies worldwide has increased drastically since 1989 as a direct result of American intervention."
Both panelists agreed that the two candidates planned to justify American intervention in other countries in drastically different ways.
Kaplan said that while Bush gets his legitimacy from the American people, Kerry would have sought multinational agreements and the aid of allies. He said that it was a question of "unilateralism versus multilateralism."
Other important issues addressed in the debate were the war on terror, America's dealings with Russia and Vladimir Putin, and Bush's freedom to act without considering re-election.
The event was part of AU's Table Talk Lunch Series, sponsored by the Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies and the Office of the University Chaplain. After a buffet-style lunch, the discussion was moved to the chapel area in order to accommodate the approximately 90 guests.
