GOP economic and foreign policy: World American Realignment (WAR)

It has been a very newsworthy week in terms of U.S. foreign policy with regard to Iran.  First, two U.S. Navy riverine craft managed to stray into Iranian territorial waters, developed propulsion trouble, and their crew of nine men and one woman were detained by Iranian authorities on Farsi Island.  In less than twenty-four hours all ten Americans were released along with both surface craft.  On the heels of this incident, the U.S. and Iran have reached an agreement to release four Iranian Americans including a Marine Corps veteran and a Washington Post reporter who were being held on sanctions violations.  Spin these developments however you please but in the end it is apparent that the quiet dignity of the Obama Administration’s foreign policy is shining brightly as an international success story.  My metric of success is the number of American lives lost and reaching consensus in negotiation.  What’s more, the incident with the Navy swift boats was resolved without escalation before President Obama’s critics could exploit what they saw a huge political windfall.

(Image by DemocraticUnderground)

I’m sure I am not the only one who keeps hearing it but the constant repetition of a certain meme by the GOP frontrunner is beginning to wear on me.  “I’m going to make America great again!”  Okay, someone clue me in.  When has America not been great?  The other oft repeated meme by this candidate is also beginning to get stale from overuse, “I’m going to rebuild America’s military.”  How?  The United States already spends more on defense than the next seven nations combined.  Does the candidate not know this?  Is it really necessary to indoctrinate youth in images that do not make sense in any rational universe?  The old saying does ring true:

When your only tool is a hammer, everything begins to look like a nail.

At what point does a candidate’s rhetoric bring his morality let alone his sanity into question?  Sure, feeding red meat to your political base goes with the territory, but let’s be realistic.  Since when did tough talk become a litmus test to be a Presidential candidate?  If any of these candidates truly subscribe to Christianity I just have to ask where is their sense of  humanity?      

Do any of the candidates running for the GOP nomination have anything to offer in terms of foreign relations with non-friendly nations that does not involve the threat or commitment of American military might as a first option?  Let it be duly noted there is a dearth of U.S. military veterans in the GOP field this year.

Simply stated, quiet diplomacy and diplomacy in general and other non-military avenues of overseas conflict resolution does not generate profit for the defense industry.  Of all entities with a dog in this fight, please understand that defense contractors donate generously to all Presidential candidates with the Republicans getting by far the lion’s share of the take.  So, when military might is used profit is generated, but where does that leave those implementing that might?  Where do these candidates stand on the rights of military veterans?  For all the lip service of how much they “support the troops,” The Congressional GOP has a recent track record of being less than generous with veteran benefits.   I have not heard any of them complain about those spending cuts.  I don’t buy the frontrunner’s claim of him being close to the military just because he went to a high dollar private New York military academy.  When it came time to actually serve he found a way to take a pass.  Also, do any of these tough talking GOPers even have any children serving in the military?  Would any of their rhetoric be a little more moderate if they did?  Would any of them be in favor of a return to the old GI Bill if it required raising taxes to pay for it?  If they are not willing to support the veterans then they need to shut the hell up about “supporting the troops.”

As we move through Primary season, policy specifics are going to begin to matter.  I am curious as to how each of these candidates would have dealt with the issues of this past week in terms of policy.  So far by all indications diplomacy has worked and the results have been favorable.  The closer we get to the election the more it will enter into the discussion that results do in fact matter.  Does “rebuilding our military” mean just throwing money at it or spending smartly?  Remember, whoever wins this election will be the one getting the 2 AM phone call regarding trouble somewhere on the planet.  Having a rational person in office has worked for the past seven years.  I do not relish the prospect of “carpet bombing into oblivion” as a first option for any foreign entity opposing American interests abroad.  We are the United States of America after all and in spite of the concerted efforts of so many to undermine the current Administration from within and without, we are still the greatest nation on the planet with an economy and military to validate the claim.