Politics Ends At The Water's Edge - Haha, Good One

Bigger Tent

After almost a year of discussion about domestic politics and domestic policy in the United States why is the Bigger Tent Podcast turning now to foreign policy and foreign affairs? The biggest reason can be summed up in a word: Afghanistan. Not since we left Vietnam in a similar way has our end to involvement in a foreign country drawn so much attention or scorn. Believe me, we see how no win it was when we didn't take a negotiated surrender offered by the Taliban 3 MONTHS after we started going after them. A monumental mistake we are paying dearly for today. The second reason is hinted at in our title today. It used to be said the politics ends at the water's edge meaning we will close ranks as Americans when it comes to foreign affairs and remain unified in our words and actions. The truth is THAT truth has not been real for a very long time - certainly not since the Vietnam War. It IS a truism that politics is not something we should shrink from or run from because its what those untrustworthy politicians do. Politics is just human interaction to both get along and get what you want or need. Simple as that. Politics is in our family life, in our work, in our sports and in our religion. Wherever there are people, you will find politics. So instead of obsessing over the current question: How did this happen? I'd much prefer: Where do we go from here? We need to have a discussion about our place in the family of nations. Are we going to participate or are we going to be the rich, aloof uncle that never comes to any family functions. The world has been shrinking for a hundred years and it hasn't stopped yet. We realized what goes on in Afghanistan and Iraq and other far flung parts of the globe can directly affect our lives here. It's not changing accept that its becoming more and more true every day. So if we're "in it to win it" what does that mean. How should we act to have the greatest security and freedom and prosperity possible? I have come up with 10 or so principles that if executed well would serve us well as our framework to guide us now and in the near future. Some of these guiding principles come from experience and have been tested. But of course some will say they are outdated and unworkable. THAT is a debate we need to have. Others are about new subjects that are in our field of vision now due to technology. For example, there are weapons now more than ever that require no human lives (for the attacker) being risked. Drones are here and we need to decide if we should use more or less of them. Most new technology gets incorporated into the military if it can hurt the other side. But not always. In WWI biological weapons were tried and the general consensus was this was a bad idea for so many reasons. Then there is cyber warefare. I happen to think this should be high on our radar as a means to force solutions when diplomacy fails and we'd rather not kill in order to make our point. The United States is number one in cyber capabilities, but will we remain there. Then there are tremendous doctrines such as Reagan's Peace Thru Strength and The Powell Doctrine that has gone in and out of favor since the 1980s. Join us as we tackle these topics and more over this episode and the next Bigger Tent Podcast.