Foreign Policy for the 21st Century

Introduction

As a Marine, Jake served our country for five years, working with allies and partners in Afghanistan and Panama. In this time, he saw firsthand the ways in which American leadership can positively impact our world — and witnessed the failures of American foreign policy. The American people have been let down by our President, who destroys our alliances and recklessly endangers American lives, and Congress, which has all but forgotten endless wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. We must reverse this dangerous course of action.

American foreign policy and national security policy should, at its core, focus on both protecting the American people and protecting the global commons. These goals often intersect, and the defense of the global commons is vital to our interests and strategic priorities, as well as those of our allies. However, the United States cannot continue waging wars in Iraq and Afghanistan for the sake of a “strategic priority” that does not exist. 

In an era of strained American alliances and dangerous executive leadership, Congress must reassert its constitutional authority to enact a rational foreign policy agenda — one that keeps Americans safe, restores and expands our alliances and partnerships around the world, and protects the global commons from bad actors. The core tenets of any progressive foreign policy must be those same shared values that brought nations together after WWII: peace, prosperity, and democracy. The United States will regain its global stature by demonstrating its commitment to these values and to the allies who share them. 

As a former president once said: “People the world over have always been more impressed by the power of our example than by the example of our power.”

COVID-19 & Global Health

The United States has the capital and expertise to successfully navigate a global pandemic. COVID-19 in the United States reached crisis-level due to both a lack of preparedness from the executive and a lack of respect for science and expertise; President Trump’s team dismantled the National Security Council’s pandemic response apparatus and refused to listen to intelligence briefings detailing the severity of the COVID-19 crisis. Beyond criminal negligence, these actions highlight the need to redefine national security to include all government functions which ensure the safety of the American people.

• President Trump has sworn to cut the U.S.’s funding for the World Health Organization. The WHO may be flawed in its work with China and its failure to provide support to Taiwan, but the organization provides critical assistance to developing countries and is important to the U.S. because it facilitates crucial information-sharing to combat pandemics. A U.S. exit would only create a vacuum for China to run the organization as it sees fit. The U.S. must fund the WHO in full. 

• This administration has crippled the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s ability to respond to COVID-19, both domestically and internationally. The CDC must be able to work with partners around the globe to identify and contain public health threats.

• Two years ago, National Security Advisor John Bolton gutted the Directorate for Global Health Security and Biodefense. It is unconscionable that the Trump administration was so unprepared for this pandemic, and that senior officials continue to ignore recommendations from career officials with expertise in global health. 

The United States must lead on global health, which includes more than just a coordinated response to COVID. The United States must increase foreign aid, particularly in times of crisis, and end the Global Gag Rule that prevents millions around the world from accessing quality reproductive healthcare. 

Iraq, Afghanistan, and Congressional War Powers

Article I of the Constitution clearly states that the power to declare war is Congress’ alone. Yet, in recent years, Congress has increasingly ceded these powers to the executive branch, granting the President the power to use force without effective oversight. The most salient examples of this trend are the 2001 and 2002 Authorizations for Use of Military Force (AUMF) resolutions, which granted the President broad war powers. These resolutions carry no time limit, have not been substantially reexamined since their establishment, and, ultimately, have demonstrated the damage that can be done in the hands of an erratic president.

More importantly, these resolutions do not constitute good policy in the hands of any president. The American people must have a say in any decision to send their fellow citizens abroad, and a return to Article I war powers is the best way to ensure that our military force is used with prudence. 

Congress has failed to use its constitutional powers to reign in executive power because it is easier for Representatives to maintain the status quo. But Americans remain stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan — Americans who aren’t even old enough to remember 9/11 — and Congress must step up to end American involvement in these conflicts and commit to a rapid, responsible withdrawal from both countries.

Afghanistan:

Recent negotiations with the Taliban have set the stage for a U.S. withdrawal, but the process will not be complete until the Taliban finish negotiations with the Afghan government — a process that could take months or years. The United States, therefore, must establish clear objectives for the remainder of our troop presence and withdrawal period.

1. Secure a cease-fire for the duration of negotiations. If the United States is to continue negotiations with the Taliban, they must demonstrate the ability to maintain a cease-fire.

2. Ensure sovereignty of Afghan government over Kabul and its environs. While many tribal territories in Southern Afghanistan are contested, there must be no debate about Kabul and the surrounding territory. It is critical that the Afghan government maintain control here. 

3. Stabilize Kandahar power-sharing between Pashtun and other local interests. Some concessions to the Taliban in terms of shared regional authority are likely, and while the United States should be careful about implementation, it is a necessary component of any peace deal.

4. Impose zero-tolerance rule for Taliban harboring or aiding terrorists. The United States’ only strategic imperative in Afghanistan is to prevent the development and training of terror groups like al-Qaeda. The Taliban must demonstrate similar commitment to this imperative if any peace deal is to be reached.

5. Withdraw American and allied troops, while maintaining special operations capabilities in the region. Special Operations Forces can deter and protect against a resurgence of terrorist activity while keeping the U.S. regional footprint small. 

Iraq:

The recent selection of Mustafa al-Khadimi as Prime Minister is a welcome step toward ending Iraq’s internal political turmoil, as the country emerges from months of protests halted only by a COVID-19-induced lockdown. The United States should continue to supply Iraq with material aid and expertise to avoid a resurgence of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), but a more cohesive withdrawal strategy is needed. Coalition forces have started transferring bases to Iraqi Security Forces, but a haphazard withdrawal could leave space for ISIL to gain ground. 

1. Restore U.S.-Kurdish relations and provide support for Kurds in Syria. They have taken, and continue to take, the brunt of the fight against ISIL and have long stood with us — even when we have not supported them. 

2. Counter Iranian proxy forces and influence operations, designating appropriations to the Department of State, as Congress did to fight Russian disinformation. 

3. Withdraw non-training troop presence as quickly as possible.

Each of these points require negotiation between the United States and the Iraqi government to allow for a coordinated and responsible withdrawal. 

Iraq is an excellent example of why the U.S. needs to shift its budgetary priorities away from the Department of Defense and toward the Department of State and USAID. The U.S. should be allocating more funding for the State Department for rebuilding parts of Iraq ravaged by ISIL, both to bolster the Iraqi government and to aid Iraqi civil society’s recovery. The U.S. must rethink the balance between DoD and DoS budgets more broadly, and recommit to the types of foreign aid programs that strengthened American alliances and improved our security in the 20th century. As part of this, the Department of Defense's budget should be cut by at least 10% to restore a healthy tooth-to-tail ratio. We can make cuts that restore a healthy ‘tooth-to-tail ratio’ without affecting expeditionary readiness or our ability to protect the global commons.

Our only foreign policy imperatives in the Middle East are:

1. To ensure that nations such as Afghanistan no longer harbor terrorist organizations.

2. To protect our closest partner in the region: Israel.

3. To ensure that maritime commerce is unimpeded.

4. Preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

None of these objectives require an on-the-ground presence in Iraq or Afghanistan.

As part of this, the Department of Defense's budget should be cut by 10% to restore a healthy tooth-to-tail ratio. We can make cuts that restore a healthy ‘tooth-to-tail ratio’ without affecting expeditionary readiness or our ability to protect the global commons.

Israel:

America’s alliance with Israel is based on shared values and shared interests. A strong Israel that serves as a close partner, that supports her moderate neighbors, that shares critical intelligence, and that deters war in the region is vital to our ability to manage fallout from a failing Middle East. 

Click here for more on Israel and the region. 

Climate Change

Climate change is one of our greatest global challenges — and a global issue requires global cooperation. The Trump administration has actively undermined multinational efforts to curb carbon emissions. Congress must ensure that the United States remains a leader in combating climate change. 

We must:

1. Re-enter the Paris Climate Agreement. We must recommit to global leadership on this issue, and Paris represents the best opportunity to do so.

2. Establish robust environmental standards in all new trade deals. 

3. Negotiate new anti-drilling and Arctic protection treaties. The Trump administration’s environmental rollbacks have been disastrous, and the US must lead on this issue.

4. Encourage our allies to shift toward sustainable economies — energy security is national security. This includes providing additional resources for open-source R&D projects via organizations like Manhattan 2, and encouraging energy independence and sustainability.

5. Cooperate with China on green R&D and infrastructure. China is now the global leader in green energy and a necessary partner in combating climate change.

Jake has detailed his plan to combat climate change through domestic policy, but understands that, ultimately, we must go beyond borders, working with allies, partners, and multinational organizations to protect our planet.

Free & Fair Trade

The liberalization of markets has been the most effective anti-poverty platform in global history. In this spirit, the United States must establish a strong commitment to free and fair trade and to organizations that aid in liberalization and integration. 

On trade, Jake stands in favor of ending the senseless Chinese-American trade war. Tariffs are taxes on American consumers, and President Trump’s trade policies only hurt Americans.

We must:

1. Re-enter the Trans-Pacific Partnership. The United States’ withdrawal from the TPP was a mistake; it hurt the development of new markets for American products in Eastern and Southeastern Asia and has allowed China to assert more dominance over the region. 

2. Reform the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). National security concerns have been a scapegoat for hindering free trades, primarily through CFIUS. CFIUS should be reserved for genuine intelligence threats, like Huawei’s surveillance capabilities or China’s state-sponsored industrial espionage. Using CFIUS to deter trade of goods like steel is just protectionism in another form.

3. Continue to deepen trade relationships with Europe, the UK, and allies and partners in Asia and Africa. Regardless of the UK’s long-term relationship with the EU, both are vital allies and trade partners, and the United States should actively pursue tariff reductions. 

Gains from trade liberalization have not been distributed evenly, and many — particularly those in manufacturing — have not reaped the benefits of deepening integration into global markets. However, this imbalance is not an excuse for protectionism, costly trade wars, and an attempted reversal of integration. Good foreign policy, like trade liberalization, must be paired with effective domestic policy: job retraining or education credits for jobs displaced by new trade deals, a federal infrastructure bank to better finance new projects, and robust support for unions.

Election Security

Ensuring election security at the local, state, and federal levels is a national security imperative. The protection of our elections is also a domestic policy issue, as it requires the bolstering of physical ballot box security, the establishment of inter-agency functions to oversee election security resources, and, the election of presidential candidates who understand and respect the impact of foreign interference. Foreign governments and non-state actors are able to incite widespread mistrust of our most vital institutions very cheaply — the effects per dollar spent are devastating. The United States must commit to investing in election security. 

However, foreign policy solutions exist, as well — and there are lessons to be learned from our NATO allies. Estonia’s cyber defense is the global gold standard; the Baltic state has combated Russian digital aggression for years, and there are valuable lessons to be taken from methods used to counter Russian disinformation and cyber attacks.

NATO & Our Allies

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is the United States’ most important alliance. Article 5, the collective defense clause of the NATO treaty, has only been invoked once: in response to 9/11. Our NATO allies have remained steadfast in their support of the U.S., and we must recommit to demonstrating this support in return. While this alliance will undoubtedly evolve with external threats and internal dynamics, we must focus on strengthening the core security promises that bind together the North Atlantic allies who defend liberal democracy.

China: Economic Opportunity and Geopolitical Challenge

China’s economic growth should not pose a strategic threat to the United States. In fact, China’s participation in global markets is economically beneficial not just to China but to all its trade partners, including the United States. U.S. foreign policy toward China cannot continue to conflate economic interactions with geopolitical challenges. In short, the United States should cooperate with China in economic spheres while also challenging China’s geopolitical aggression toward its neighbors and its own people. 

A continuation of the Trump trade war with China unnecessarily hurts American consumers and damages our bilateral relationship. China is the world’s largest market for most consumer items, including cars, clothing, and cell phones, and the U.S. cannot decouple from the China market without crippling our major industries. Congress should reduce tariffs quickly and commit to negotiations with China in building better trade structures with robust labor and environmental standards. 

The House and Senate both overwhelmingly passed legislation in support of Hong Kong, marking a substantial step toward honest criticism of the many atrocities committed by China. China’s treatment of Uighurs — an abuse of human rights on a massive scale - is another such atrocity that Congress has rightly condemned, but the United States needs to provide stronger leadership on this issue. The United States must work with allies and partners to condemn and counter China’s abuses and aggression.

• The United States cannot allow Chinese aggression in the South China Sea and in Taiwan to go unchecked; it is in the vital security interest of our allies that international waters do not become Chinese waters. 

• The United States must support the open and democratic societies that China has sought to control through soft power: Australia, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. 

• Congress must continue to push for an expansion of the Global Magnitsky Act, specifically targeting those responsible for China’s abuse of its Uighur population. 

• China’s financial colonization of Africa through initiatives like BRI must be condemned — but the United States must do more. It must outcompete China by offering more non-predatory aid and investment support to developing countries, in addition to increasing U.S. investment in artificial intelligence and biotechnology, areas where Chinese influence is growing rapidly. 

• The United States must rejoin the Trans-Pacific Partnership and commit to lowering trade barriers to counter China’s economic aggression in Asia-Pacific and beyond. 

Russia

Russian aggression in Eastern Europe, especially in Ukraine, and the Middle East poses a serious threat to the United States and its allies. Additionally, state-sponsored electoral interference from the Russian GRU and Putin’s continued support for the Assad regime in Syria must be met with strong condemnation. With that said, there are multiple opportunities for de-escalation with Russia:

The Trump administration has withdrawn from multiple arms control agreements, making the U.S.-Russia relationship more dangerous and volatile. Both nations have a vested interest in arms control, including the extension of New START and a renegotiation of the INF treaty, with Chinese participation. These will be difficult negotiations, but the U.S. must re-commit to arms control and denuclearization. The U.S. and Russia can collaborate to combat climate change by deescalating competition in the Arctic and preserving its natural resources.

Russian cyberwarfare and disinformation threatens American democracy and that of our allies. War rages on in Ukraine. The United States and allies must impose sanction regimes against those associated with war crimes and assassinations. We must also invest in European energy independence initiatives, freeing allies from their dependence on Russian natural gas.

The United States must also remain committed to protecting its allies and partners in both Eastern Europe and East Asia.

India

As the world’s largest democracy, India has the potential to be a valuable partner in the region and is already a significant partner in trade and innovation — yet, U.S. foreign policy toward India is weak, though the U.S.-India 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue has expanded our defense and technology relationship and has enacted new measures to bolster maritime security in the Indian Ocean. The United States, however, cannot endorse the rising Hindu nationalism encouraged by Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party. Congressional leadership must be vocal in its opposition to such nationalism in India and around the world. 

Central and South America

In Jake’s experience commanding multinational special operations in Panama, he saw firsthand the threat from cartels. The United States’ status-quo policy toward our neighbors and partners — the so-called “War on Drugs” — has been widely ineffective and has created unnecessary regional tensions. Instead, the United States, in addition to liberalizing its own drug laws, should encourage Latin American countries to ease drug enforcement and criminal statutes, following the example of trailblazers such as Uruguay and Portugal. 

Further, the United States must condemn autocratic governments in Brazil and Venezuela. Jair Bolsonaro and Nicolás Maduro continue to inflict harm on their own people, highlighting the need for a U.S. response with targeted sanctions and vocal support for legitimately elected leaders like Juan Guaidó. 

Denuclearization: North Korea and Iran

Despite recent escalation in Iran, the Persian middle class remains a latent American ally saddled with an oppressive government. One aim of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) was to strengthen these moderate groups against the regime and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). 

U.S. policy towards Iran must aim for a return to denuclearization negotiations and support for nonviolent regime change through targeted economic sanctions against regime officials. The U.S. can start by signaling a willingness to renegotiate the JCPOA, particularly the provisions that are starting to sunset.

President Trump’s North Korea summits made no progress in the denuclearization of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, and Trump gave international legitimacy to a despotic regime in exchange for nothing. The United States must stand with its close allies, the Republic of Korea and Japan, and must commit to only conducting serious negotiations on critical issues, such as IAEA inspections, instead of weakening our allies' positions for the sake of a Trump photo-op. 

Moving Past a Cold War Military Posture

While the U.S. military has sought to update its posture in the last decade, it still prioritizes an outdated mode of readiness and deterrence held over from the Cold War. This model doesn’t match 21st century priorities. Rather, the United States must invest in measures that best protect the global commons: naval power, air power, cyber capabilities, and the special operations forces that eliminate terrorist threats.

1. Naval Power: America’s ability to project power is fundamentally dependent on its strong navy. Force projection requires the aircraft carriers and support ships necessary for patrolling the maritime commons and for the expeditionary missions that ensure American safety. 

2. Air Power: A strong air presence complements a strong Navy and allows the United States to project power and strike necessary targets (e.g. terrorist training camps).

3. Cyber: Cyberspace facilitates trade and innovation — the United States must keep these spaces safe from state and non-state actors to protect Americans’ wellbeing and privacy. A strong cyber program can also provide deterrence to prevent bad actors from interfering in American or allied elections.

4. Reduction in land forces: The United States no longer needs an active-duty ground force capable of fighting two land wars in Asia. Those forces should be scaled back as part of a reduction in the Pentagon’s budget.

5. Special Ops: As a former special operations officer, Jake understands the efficacy of these units. They can insert, eliminate threats, gather and share intelligence, and exfiltrate in a matter of hours. Special Operations Forces can do more for us if we invest in their capabilities. 

Conclusion

The United States has much to do to recover from the foreign policy aberrations of our current administration. Congress’ reluctance to assume its Constitutional obligations both undermines the safety of the American people, and establishes American foreign policy as one that is not representative of the people it means to protect. 

Ultimately, Congress has the power to reverse this dangerous course of action — and it must start by retaking its Article I authority to control the declaration of war. Congress also has the power — the “power of the purse” — to create an American foreign policy that both reflects American values, and readies us for the new challenges that we will face in the 21st century.