Having recently returned from a visit to Iraq — a country still suffering from a reckless decision made more than 15 years ago by the US government — the timing could not have been better for me to read Stephen Walt’s new book.
Walt makes a compelling case for a more humble, restrained and balanced US foreign policy and points to serial mistakes presidents from both sides of the political divide have made since the end of the cold war: overambitious global strategies, an insular, dysfunctional foreign policy elite (derisively referred to as “the blob”) and a lack of accountability for disastrous decisions.
Where I differ with Walt is in his shoehorning of Barack Obama in with the others. I would make the case that Mr Obama really did embrace the strategy Walt recommends. His refusal to use significant force against President Bashar al-Assad in Syria (notably after the “red line” was crossed in 2013) or his push for diplomatic agreements with Iran and Cuba are just a few examples. Full disclosure: I served as a political appointee in the state department for nearly six years and, along with a number of my “blobby” colleagues, was frustrated with Mr Obama’s reluctance to engage more substantially, notably in Syria.