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September 03, 2010

In Defense of Politics and National Security
Posted by Patrick Barry

Iraq A few days ago, I came across a post by Gulliver at the excellent Inkspots, decrying how the politicization of national security was eroding his will to blog. Judging from the number of posts Gulliver has written since this sad lament, I’m skeptical the situation is nearly as dire as he originally described. What’s less in doubt is his observation that politics and national security are increasingly “bumping up against one another.” 

On a certain level, this has me scratching my head, wondering, “So what?” Politics is how America resolves policy differences in a number of areas. The outcome of a health care or tax policy debate often will carry significant, life-altering consequences for Americans.  Yet we don’t bat an eyelash when these issues are politicized. By that standard, there’s no reason national security should get a pass.

Furthermore, pretending that politics and national security don’t mix can lead to very bad policy outcomes. I’m sympathetic to the view that had concerned or reluctant elected officials invested energy in having a political debate over whether or not to invade Iraq, the country might have avoided a national security catastrophe. (Full disclosure: I work for an organization that was essentially founded on that justification). Sadly, we didn’t have that debate, and the country paid a steep price for it. I put that thought to Gulliver, who replied that the Iraq war was largely the result of a motivated administration pulling the wool over the eyes of the bureaucracy. But that’s precisely why you would want a more vigorous public debate – to reduce the likelihood that an agenda-drive clique can just hijack the process.

But whereas in 2002, politics and national security were not bumping up against one another enough, it seems like now they’re rubbing against each other quite a bit. As Gulliver points out, this shift is vividly exemplified by the Park51 controversy. But sitting on my progressive perch, it’s hard to see what option supporters of religious liberty have but to jump into the fray, however partisan it may be. It’s just not easy to see where a possible compromise can be found when it comes to something so fundamental. So while I agree with Gulliver that this is an immensely frustrating debate, it strikes me that there’s not much choice but to have it.

If Park51 exposes what can happen when politics is put before basic decency and common sense, then obstructionist tactics adopted by several prominent conservative politicians represent the triumph of politics over even ideological coherence. When you look at the positions taken by certain conservatives on issues ranging from START to terrorism, it’s hard to see the meaningful or reasonable policy differences guiding their actions. This has had the effect of putting basic matters and functions of America’s foreign policy into disarray. Despite it being a policy no-brainer, the passage of New START is in doubt, which would carry severe consequences for American security. Uncontroversial political appointments have become impossible. The U.S. can’t confirm a new ambassador to Turkey, a NATO ALLY! This isn’t because of some unfortunate co-mingling of national security and politics. It’s because instead of taking a policy position, and then using politics to defend that position, one political party has decided that political exigencies demand a strategy of blind obstruction.

The last thing I would say in defense of the idea of taking a political approach to foreign policy is that for good policy to have a strong chance of succeeding, it needs to have political support. Not overwhelming support, but enough for people to consider it a reasonable choice among a menu of options. Take engaging with Iran, which I believe to have been a good policy that has benefitted the U.S. Had candidate Obama not mounted a political defense of this policy during a campaign environment, it’s not clear he ever would have been in the position to attempt it on reaching office. Even with his lobbying, it was still a controversial policy. Imagine the reaction had he tried it out of the blue?

National security policy, then politics. It’s when the second comes before the first that we get mixed up. 

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But whereas in 2002, politics and national security were not bumping up against one another enough, it seems like now they’re rubbing against each other quite a bit. As Gulliver points out, this shift is vividly exemplified by the Park51 controversy. But sitting on my progressive perch, it’s hard to see what option supporters of religious liberty have but to jump into the fray, however partisan it may be. It’s just not easy to see where a possible compromise can be found when it comes to something so fundamental. So while I agree with Gulliver that this is an immensely frustrating debate, it strikes me that there’s not much choice but to have it.
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