Foreign Policy Discussion Guide

AGENDA:

● Social Time (30 minutes) ● Within each group identify who will be: ○ Timekeeper to ensure that everyone has a chance to speak ○ Scribe to take a few notes of what has been discussed, and post a summary on the Policy Circle website ○ Reporter who will report back to the larger group what was discussed ○ Facilitator to keep the conversation going around the circle, asking some questions from this guide if necessary. The role of the facilitator is to invite each member to share her perspective and help focus the conversation on understanding the issue and how to become an influencer. ● #CircleUp: Circle discussion (4560min) ● Circle Recap (20min): Reporter and scribe report back to the larger group what was discussed. ● Next Steps (15min): ○ Discuss how to influence policymaking (e.g. attend town hall meetings, write opeds). ○ Determine the date of the next meeting. ○ Decide on a topic for next meeting. The circle could go deeper on the topic covered, focus on a state issue or use another brief available from The Year of Conversation, The Policy Circle’s conversation schedule with corresponding briefs.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION:

● What can be done to ensure that our leaders prioritize the Constitutional responsibility of our government to defend the nation? ● How can the U.S. continue to lead in the world and remain engaged abroad — militarily, economically, and diplomatically? What are the merits of America maintaining a strong role on the world stage? ● How is isolationism harmful to U.S. security interests, our allies, and Middle East stability? ● What can be done to repair the strained U.S.Israel reliance?

● How will the recent agreement with Iran affect the region? What can the U.S. do to bolster Israel in the face of the existential threat that is posed to our ally by a nuclear Iran? ● What legislative steps can our elected officials take to address the threat of global terror groups such as Al Qaeda and ISIS?

KEY FACTS:

Free Market Principle: Since the end of WWII, the U.S. has been a champion of universal freedom and has promoted prosperity and liberal democracy, the form of government most compatible with free enterprise. Its role as a leader on the world stage has also served to deter repressive regimes and to illustrate the benefits and economic flourishing made possible by the freemarket.

Historic Fact: In recent years, as Bret Stephens writes in America in Retreat, due to budget cuts, the U.S. Army has returned to its June 1940 size. In 2013, there were fewer Navy ships at sea than at any time since 1916. The Pentagon has also recently cut U.S. nuclear forces. This retreat from a strong national security occurs as the number of jihadist groups has rapidly risen; the Taliban continues to expand its influence in Afghanistan and to attack foreign troops and government forces; ISIS beheads American citizens in the Middle East and carries out attacks against our European allies; Hamas and Hezbollah continue to terrorize Israel, our number one ally in the region; and Iran is only an estimated twomonths away from a nuclear breakout, according to Secretary of State John Kerry.

Facts to Remember:

● Al Qaeda has evolved from the original core group of September 11th masterminds to an alarming multinational operation with franchises throughout Africa and the Arab world (AQIM, AQAP, Jabhat alNusra, Boko haram, etc.) From 20102013, “the number of attacks by al Qaeda affiliates has increased to roughly 1000 from 392.” ● The Taliban continues to expand its influence in Afghanistan, with the aid of other terrorist groups such as the Haqqani network in Pakistan. 13,000 Afghan soldiers and police have been killed fighting the Taliban over the last three years, according to the Pentagon. ● ISIS continues to gain ground in Syria and Iraq. In addition to its brutal executions of captured civilians, the group recently staged terror attacks in France, Beirut, and Tunisia,

and inspired the mass shooting in San Bernardino, California. An estimated 27,000 foreign fighters have joined ISIS in Syria and Iraq over the last 18 months up from 12,000. ● Hamas and Hezbollah continue to pose existential threats to Israel, and both are actively building out sophisticated underground tunnels into Israel to use for terrorism, violence, and kidnappings. ● Iran continues to commit horrific human rights abuses against its own people, to hold four Americans hostage, and to ally itself with other rogue actors such as Syria and North Korea. National security experts also argue that the recent deal with Iran “paves the way for an eventual Iranian bomb” and will destabilize the Middle East, setting off a nuclear arms race among Iran’s regional rivals.

ROLE OF GOVERNMENT:

● Foreign policy stances are divisive, complex, and varied among both liberals and conservatives, and can defy partisan lines. Brief summary of major outlooks on foreign policy: ○ Neoconservatism: ○ Favors a “hawkish” foreign policy. ○ Believes in strong national defense ○ Sees U.S. as a force of good in the world, a pillar of international stability, and favors American engagement abroad ○ The late Irving Kristol, often dubbed a “godfather” of the neoconservative persuasion, summed up neoconservative foreign policy as such: “barring extraordinary events, the United States will always feel obliged to defend, if possible, a democratic nation under attack from nondemocratic forces, external or internal. That is why it was in our national interest to come to the defense of France and Britain in World War II. That is why we feel it necessary to defend Israel today, when its survival is threatened. No complicated geopolitical calculations of national interest are necessary.

○ Realism ○ Bret Stephens writes that “realists believe that power, not law, legitimacy, morality, or economics, is the ultimate coin of the realm in international relations. Unlike most neoconservatives, they do not consider the internal character of regimes to be a bar to a diplomatic relationship or a strategic opening [...] The serious Realist will do whatever he must in the service of the national interest. But he will not be moved at all, except perhaps privately, to rescue others from their own often selfinflicted dilemmas or tragedies.”

○ Examples of traditional realists include twentieth century Republican statesmen Henry Kissinger, Brent Scowcroft, and James Baker.

○ Isolationism ○ Has historically appealed to both progressives and conservatives ○ As Stephens summarizes in America in Retreat, the contemporary isolationist:

1. “Consistently views an activist foreign policy as a net drain on more important domestic considerations. 2. Believes that the United States enjoys little benefit from, nad has no business, being the ‘world’s policeman’ or ‘leader of the free world.’1 3. Thinks that the United States should drastically curtail its overseas military presence. 4. Opposes nearly any military action that is not in direct response to an attack on U.S. soil. 5. Tends to view U.S. allies such as Israel and South Korea as freeloaders who should look after their own defense and not be given the ‘welfare check’ of an American security umbrella. 6. Is convinced that even the bestintended U.S. foreign policy action will fall victim to unintended consequences, bureaucratic incompetence, and democratic fecklessness, and is therefore inadvisable to undertake in the first place. Suspects either that America is in decline already, and therefore cannot shoulder its traditional global commitments, or that shouldering those burdens is an obstacle to economic renewal.”

BECOMING AN INFLUENCER:

● Voice your concerns to your elected officials ● Write opeds and letters to the editor on policy issues for local newspapers ● Organize letterwriting campaigns to your representative and to the relevant House & Senate Committees’ leadership

1 Stephens, America In Retreat, 95 96. ‐