Encourage the Iranians to Liberate Themselves, Wurmser Says
And alert complacent Americans to the “grave danger looming”
[“America has a positive role to play in advancing freedom and democracy in the rest of the world,” is one of the themes here at The Editors. I’ve been reporting that out by soliciting, from a variety of thoughtful voices, answers to this prompt:
What are the most promising, concrete, specific steps America can take over the next few years to promote freedom, democracy, and rule of law in other countries? What places and people would you focus on, what’s the case for making the efforts, and how, practically, do you get it done given the constraints imposed by the American political and fiscal landscape?
Today’s response comes from David Wurmser. Wurmser is a scholar at the Misgav Institute and founder of the Delphi Global Analysis Group. He was senior adviser to Vice President Cheney and is a former lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy Reserves. I first met him in the mid 1990s when I was the Washington correspondent of the Forward.— Ira Stoll]
First of all, it needs to be restated that an American foreign policy must be anchored to its values, starting with the enterprise of freedom. Unfortunately, because of the unavoidable distortions of the late phase of the Cold War and the premium placed on stability over victory, we sought too much to control our allies and indulge our enemies to maintain quiet rather than leverage the power that emanates from their being free societies. As a result, our adversaries—those who see the idea of freedom as so anathema to their rule that its destruction is essential to their tyrannical survival—held our desire for quiet, as well as our core values, hostage to manipulate us and our allies into weakness. This has led to a moment now of acute threat and retreat globally of freedom. And it has led to a global challenge embodied by the eruption of several distinct wars, and the likely the eruption of more, by the advocates of tyranny to reverse the victory of the West in the Cold War and assault those allies that are most exposed and vulnerable. The momentum and stature of the idea of freedom thus needs as a strategic imperative to be reinforced, allies strengthened, and the retreat reversed.
This involves then three priorities. First, the purpose of American power and global involvement must domestically be reacquired. Too many take for granted our way of life and our freedom, and fail to see the grave danger looming in coming years due to our complacence and failure to understand the need for a robust American global presence, not only defense maritime presence as our heritage dictates, but also in terms of military power primed for projection and deployment.
Second, it means that our regional allies must be allowed to secure themselves, win war decisively in which some are already engaged—their victory is our victory—and forge regional alliances that then become a far less burdensome and far more solid and sustainable a foundation for not only to project power. It is vital to encourage bilateral, strategic relations to deepen between countries such as those in eastern Europe and the Balkans, Israel, the Abraham Accord nations, India, Japan, South Korea and ANZUS countries (all of whom can compete also with Chinese and Russian power).
Finally, third, we must identify those forces in our greatest adversaries—Iran being perhaps the most advanced—that seem primed for overcoming their tyranny, help regional allies defeat them into strategic retreat, and morally encourage their populations to liberate themselves and navigate their nations into joining the alliance of free countries.
Other, earlier answers: Other, earlier answers: “Don’t Lose Any Countries” Is Elliott Abrams’s Advice, by Elliott Abrams
Counter Communist China in the U.S. and at the U.N., Ellen Bork Recommends, by Ellen Bork
Help Ukraine and Israel Prevail, Says Carl Gershman, by Carl Gershman
Resist Redefining “Democracy” as Elite Preferences, Kontorovich Says, by Eugene Kontorovich
Spend More on Defense and Less on Everything Else, Mandelbaum Warns, by Michael Mandelbaum
More Building, Less Lecturing, Mansour Recommends, by Hussein Aboubakr Mansour
Tell the World the Truth About Iran, Says Richard Perle, by Richard Perle
Let Argentina, Israel, Italy, Taiwan and Others Lead, Daniel Pipes Says, by Daniel Pipes
Free Trade for Free Nations, Scheinmann Suggests, by Gabriel Scheinmann
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