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Our Presence Is Needed
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10103 |
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CURRENT ISSUES
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| Issue
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4 / 1993 |
1,685 Words |
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Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher, George Bush, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter
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For the third time this century, the United States has survived and been victorious in a global struggle. After World War I, America sank back into isolationism, which permitted the rise of totalitarian regimes in Italy, Japan, and Germany. Following World War II, the world was roughly divided between the Western democracies and the Sino-Soviet bloc. Now that the Cold War is over, in what direction should the United States move--backward toward isolationism, or forward by setting a democratic example?
In the following comments by Western political leaders, there runs a common thread--that America must continue to look beyond itself to serve as a beacon of freedom and democracy for the rest of the world.
-The Editor
"Confronting postcommunist bullies"
Just as the world's democracies banded together to advance the cause of freedom in the face of totalitarianism, might we not now unite to impose civilized standards of behavior on those who flout every measure of human decency? Are we not nearing a point in world history where civilized nations can in unison stand up to the most immoral and deadly excesses against humanity, such as those now defacing Somalia and Bosnia?
Already we have seen the potential for such action in the unprecedented coalition against Saddam Hussein, in the pivotal role played by multinational UN peacekeeping forces in trouble spots around the globe. I heartily endorse these measures, and I applaud their efforts….
There is an antidote to chaos, and a structure for humanitarism intervention already is in place. Its name is NATO. Forty-five years after it was founded as a bulwark against Soviet expansionism, NATO must again be made relevant to European peacekeeping. It must reinvent itself to deal with the kind of inhumane situations we now see along the Adriatic….
Is NATO's current posture toward Bosnia so very different from that of the policeman who won't cross the street to stop a murder because it's not in his jurisdiction? But Europe was supposed to be NATO's jurisdiction. The humanitarian assistance to civilian populations may be delivered through all necessary means. NATO has those means. NATO is the means.
As long as military
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