Samson or Goliath? Gulliver After Iraq
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Review Essay
Samson or Goliath? Gulliver After Iraq Linda B. Miller Wellesley College, Brown University, USA. E-mail: [email protected]
Books Under Review The Opportunity Richard Haass New York: Public Affairs, 2005, 242 pp. $25.00 hardcover The New American Militarism Andrew J. Bacevich New York: Oxford, 2005, 270 pp. $28.00 hardcover Taming American Power Stephen M. Walt New York: W.W. Norton, 2005, 303 pp. $27.95 hardcover The Case for Goliath Michael Mandelbaum New York: Public Affairs, 2005, 283 pp. $26.00 hardcover International Politics (2006) 43, 419–426. doi:10.1057/palgrave.ip.8800146
Introduction In the long run, will the Iraq war, regardless of its outcome, lead to more opportunities for the US to exercise its unprecedented power at home and abroad? Or will the protracted war lead to a set of a more modest foreign policy goals for Washington, one more in keeping with the domestic roots of isolationism in American political history? These are among the provocative questions several new books on US foreign policy pose as the war grinds on with no exit strategy evident. For those who see ‘opportunity’, the fact that the US is ‘the sole remaining superpower’, a ‘benevolent hegemon’, one destined to exert control in all
Linda B. Miller Samson or Goliath?
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spheres of global politics, economics, culture and military affairs remains valid for the foreseeable future. ‘Opportunity’ exists for institutionalizing American advantages with proper leadership. For those who see Iraq as constituting enduring constraints on American power, the insurgent phase of the war has put paid to extravagant notions of ‘empire’. No amount of sustained nuanced diplomatic practise now can rescue Washington from facing the international consequences of having embarked on the ill-fated war of choice in the first place. Damage control has replaced more innovative postures, at least for now. This debate plays out with authors producing some of the same evidence to reach opposite conclusions. Rarely do writers confront each other directly, so that observers must be the ones to point out their differences and possible agreement, as I will do in this essay.
Optimism and Pessimism Richard Haass, former government official and policy planner in the State Department and current President of the Council on Foreign Relations, is the leading exponent of ‘opportunity’ in the aftermath of the Iraq war. In an extended essay entitled The Opportunity, he argues convincingly that traditional ad hoc approaches to a multitude of global problems ranging from HIV/AIDS to terrorism are unworthy of a superpower. With sterling Republican credentials and a straightforward writing style, Haass is well positioned to have his suggestions received appreciatively in Washington, at least in the State Department, where longer range thinking is more likely than in the Bush White House. He moves methodically from outlining the collection of challenges or threats, including terrorism and proliferation of nuclear weapons, to advocating a diplomatic strategy
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