RUTHFULLY YOURS

This is Why We Should All Care About Foreign Policy by Cynthia E Ayers

Posted By Ruth King on December 4th, 2015

http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/publications/detail/this-is-why-we-should-all-care-about-foreign-policy

I recently had the pleasure of participating in a meeting held by the local chapter leaders of three rather prominent organizations of security professionals (mostly cyber-security). These organizations are generally known for keeping their membership up-to-date with current threats to national security; thus, I was utterly shocked when one of them told me that his members didn’t care about foreign policy. When pressed, he assured me that nobody outside the Washington DC beltway cared about foreign policy.

Having worked national security issues my entire life, I see foreign policy and our country’s national security as inextricably linked. With acts of terrorism from foreign and domestic sources making the news on a daily basis, reports of massive numbers of increasingly successful cyberattacks, acknowledgment of an ever-expanding nuclear threat as well as attacks (physical and cyber) on critical infrastructure, can anyone convincingly argue otherwise? Especially after Paris and San Bernardino?

A January 2015 announcement by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists proclaimed that it is now “3 Minutes to Midnight” on the Doomsday Clock, a change — as they noted — that is reflective of an international leadership problem. As indicated, practically every threat we now face (and they are legion) is of international concern. Our foreign policy is driven by what goes on internationally.

Foreign policy is linked to our federal budget with billions of dollars going to foreign aid. It’s linked to jobs with regard to global outsourcing, trade agreements and immigration. It’s linked to education, with foreign influence in what is studied and what is not, as well as foreign students filling coveted university slots. These linkages exist regardless of partisan politics. With the possible exception of trash pickup, virtually everything is linked to foreign policy these days.

During time spent in Europe (close to 20 years), I found that almost everyone I encountered was interested in our foreign policy (as well as their own country’s policies, of course). Street vendors and restaurant owners were happy to discuss such issues. They didn’t care if any agreement was reached — it was the discussion that mattered. It could be countered that one needs to be more aware of security issues if living in a smaller country; but even hard-core U.S. isolationists of old were interested in foreign policy. If there is now a lack of interest beyond the Washington DC beltway, it seems to be a relatively new and dangerous phenomenon.

Back to the group discussion. Cyber professionals who work on the global web and yet aren’t interested in foreign policy, are an enigma. An entire nation of non-politicians who don’t care about foreign policy is a travesty. If American citizens don’t care enough to think critically about foreign affairs, they shouldn’t be voting.

I was told in a discussion subsequent to the meeting that some people equate national security — and thus foreign policy — with the military and war (in other words: “hawks”). It is as if definitions have been redefined to the most simplistic concept of power projection, leaving out the accepted national duty to deal with and/or protect citizens from a wide variety of naturally occurring as well as military/kinetic threat. Adherents to this position seem to think that if people focus on foreign policy, they are focusing on war — and that if they refuse to think about it, war can be averted (the nation is thus secured). I sincerely hope that those who believe this will wake up — for their own, if not the country’s sake.

Perhaps it’s too late to care. Earlier this year, former Democrat pollster Pat Caddell, while on the news show “Political Insiders” said: “Our government is collapsing before our eyes.” Maybe that’s because too many eyes have been closed for too long.

A general malaise concerning the foreign policy of our nation will eventually result in war. In fact, we may already be there. Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter, in testimony before the House Armed Services Committee on December 1^st (before the terrorist attack at San Bernardino), stated: “We’re at war. . . . It’s not war in a technical sense, but this is serious business,” he said. “It feels that way to our people.” Several Republican candidates for President have since echoed that sentiment.

History has proven time and time again that our success in maintaining our sovereignty is due to strength. Ronald Reagan proved that dealing with national security issues from a position of strength is the basis of a sound and successful foreign policy. Strength is not measured in military might alone — indeed, Reagan’s approach was “peace through strength.” Such strength is evident in the display of situational knowledge and understanding as well as the ability and willingness to engage on the national and international level.

A citizen’s duty is to be informed and inform those who are going about the business of governing. Those within the Washington DC beltway cannot – and should not – be left to deal with foreign policy without the input of the rest of the nation. If we blindly leave foreign policy issues to the politicians and political pundits, we risk our national security, and in fact, our very sovereignty. If we, the people, simply ignore the plight of our allies and the activities of our enemies, we are doomed.

 

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