The road to recovery.

• Author: Saunders, Paul J.
• Position: The Realist - United States foreign relations - Critical essay

THE U.S. predicament in Iraq and other foreign-policy troubles have prompted a new realism from the Bush Administration. From an increasingly pragmatic approach to North Korea and Iran to a scaling back of the "freedom agenda" in the Middle East, caution is on the march. Still, the administration's foreign-policy vision is far from being a realist one--and no major presidential candidate has yet articulated an inspiring but pragmatic vision for America's international engagement. This creates an important opportunity--though not an easy one--for those who seek a new approach.

The Bush Administration has argued that pressuring governments around the world to become more democratic--with "all the elements of our power", as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice puts it--is essential to fighting terrorism, and it has attempted to make this the defining feature of America's foreign policy. Congress and the mainstream media seem to share this view--despite the fact that Americans themselves clearly disagree: Just 17 percent see promoting democracy as a "very important" goal for U.S. foreign policy, and 66 percent oppose using military force to make it happen.

What do Americans define as their priorities then? Preventing nuclear-weapons proliferation, fighting terrorism, protecting American jobs and guaranteeing energy security are the top four, each seen as "very important" by around 70 percent of Americans in a recent Chicago Council on Global Affairs poll. And these instincts seem right. Proliferation and the link between proliferation and terrorism are clearly the gravest plausible threats the United States faces from abroad--the detonation of a nuclear weapon on our territory, whether delivered on a missile or by terrorists, could change the American way of life forever. Avoiding this fate must be the central goal of U.S. foreign policy. Energy security and jobs also affect Americans' lives significantly, both directly and indirectly through their impact on the overall economy. Beyond their potential impact on truly vital U.S. interests, however, terrorism and proliferation can serve as key tests of the differences between realist and other approaches to foreign policy.

Given the transnational nature of the terrorist and proliferation problems, the United States must maximize cooperative relationships with other governments, multilaterally and bilaterally. Doing so will help gain access to intelligence and law enforcement information, strengthen security procedures and, when appropriate, pursue joint operations. To get the cooperation we need, America will also have to be more understanding of others' perspectives, motives and needs in fighting terrorism. This means giving greater attention to other governments' priorities and structuring bilateral relationships in ways that encourage rather than discourage cooperation. Washington cannot publicly criticize the Russian or Pakistani security services one day and ask for their most sensitive secrets the next. The next administration will also need to change perceptions of its approach to the War on Terror--and should start by abandoning the Bush Administration's reinterpretations of the Geneva Conventions, stating forcefully that the United States will not engage in torture, and developing transparent and persuasive policies to ensure that it does...