democracyarsenal.org: With All Our Might

May 12, 2006

With All Our Might
Posted by Michael Signer

A great big shout-out to the good folks at the Progressive Policy Institute for their publication this week of a volume called With All Our Might: A Progressive Strategy for Defeating Jihadism and Defending Liberty, edited by the redoubtable Will Marshall.

The book is a spectacular example of how engaged progressives are coming up with specific policy to envision a brighter future -- and to lead the country and the world toward security. A collection of essays by top scholars and policymakers, including Ken Pollack, Graham Allison, Anne-Marie Slaughter, and Rachel Kleinfeld and Matt Spence of the Truman Project (of which I'm a Principal), the book is based on three premises:

1) Defeating Islamic extremism is America's top security imperative
2) Victory will require new strategies that are at once tough and intelligent
3) Progressives need to stop just reacting to President Bush and instead should be taking the lead with their own initiatives on security.

Among others, the book's authors make the following arguments:

- Rachel Kleinfeld and Matt Spence argue that new surveys reveal the "9/11" generation (those under 30) do not easily fit into familiar hawk-dove dichotomies -- that they're more patriotic, confident in the miiltary, and supportive of free trade than other groups. They should be embraced by the Democratic Party as "Truman Democrats," and should form the basis of a reinvigorated progressive/security nexus.

- Reza Aslan calls for supporting Muslim modernizers, taking the right side in the civil war (called fitnah by Muslims) within Islam between orthodoxy and modernity.

- Ken Pollack argues that we should create a grand strategy for the Middle East, based on the spread of liberal ideas, habits, and constitutions.

- In order to spread deeply-rooted democracy Larry Diamond and Michael McFaul suggest a Middle East version of the 1975 Helsinki Accords, which formed a network of international institutions and NGO's to help undermine Soviet and Eastern bloc communism.

- Edward Gresser argues for a "Greater Middle East Prosperity Plan," in order to bolster Muslim economies and create opportunity for restless youth who otherwise turn to terrorism.

- Melissa Tyran says we need to reconcile Democrats and the military, by forging relationships between progressives with veterans groups, and by addressing the day-to-day challenges of the military community.

- Anne-Marie Slaughter argues that the United Nations should concentrate more on economic and social assistance to weak and failing states, while NATO takes up more of the burden of collective security.

Progressives can gain the country's confidence again with ideas like these -- victory comes through policy, not just posturing. If we demonstrate that -- with sincerity and conviction -- we'll demonstrate we're doing the heavy lifting to figure out just what needs to be done to create a safer, more secure, and more stable post-9/11 world order, with America at the helm. And that will be a mighty accomplishment indeed.

May 12, 2006 at 10:01 AM in Progressive Strategy | Permalink

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May 12, 2006

With All Our Might Posted by Michael Signer

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With All Our Might
Posted by Michael Signer