San Diego
It seems abundantly obvious. The Center for Strategic and International Studies is nonetheless correct in its new report on Smart Power (November 6, 2007) that, "to maintain a leading role in global affairs the United States must move from eliciting fear and anger to inspiring optimism and hope." Well, no kidding! Too few people were actually providing such wisdom on the eve of the Iraq War in 2003. It felt mighty lonely back then to caution that an unprovoked, unjust war was not in America's best interests and that democracy is never imposed at gun point.
With maturity, even some loud-mouth schoolyard bullies start to learn the dangerous, counter-productive pitfalls of their behaviors. These lessons have been available to use since at least the Spanish-American War as the American experiment entered puberty. Remember the Maine, indeed!
It is ironic to see that one of the report's key architects and spokesmen is Richard Armitage, a solider and diplomat I once respected until he reluctantly drank the Bush Kool-Aid on the Iraq War and, later, revealed Valerie Plame's CIA identity to the media. The CSIS is right in suggesting that we as a nation must get much smarter about the severe, disabling consequences of using power in dumb, thuggish ways. Advancing smart power, however, will require smart people in office or people whose brainpower is not otherwise blunted by partisan politics or foolish ideology. This is precisely why "hard" power can be so soft and the smartness of "soft" power can be so hard.
p.s. Kudos to Spain's King Juan Carlos who could take no more of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's constant interruptions at last weekend's summit of the leaders of Spanish-speaking countries. Your highness, we are grateful to you for telling the out-of-control Chavez, "Por que no te callas." Translation? "Why don't you just shut up."
It seems abundantly obvious. The Center for Strategic and International Studies is nonetheless correct in its new report on Smart Power (November 6, 2007) that, "to maintain a leading role in global affairs the United States must move from eliciting fear and anger to inspiring optimism and hope." Well, no kidding! Too few people were actually providing such wisdom on the eve of the Iraq War in 2003. It felt mighty lonely back then to caution that an unprovoked, unjust war was not in America's best interests and that democracy is never imposed at gun point.
With maturity, even some loud-mouth schoolyard bullies start to learn the dangerous, counter-productive pitfalls of their behaviors. These lessons have been available to use since at least the Spanish-American War as the American experiment entered puberty. Remember the Maine, indeed!
It is ironic to see that one of the report's key architects and spokesmen is Richard Armitage, a solider and diplomat I once respected until he reluctantly drank the Bush Kool-Aid on the Iraq War and, later, revealed Valerie Plame's CIA identity to the media. The CSIS is right in suggesting that we as a nation must get much smarter about the severe, disabling consequences of using power in dumb, thuggish ways. Advancing smart power, however, will require smart people in office or people whose brainpower is not otherwise blunted by partisan politics or foolish ideology. This is precisely why "hard" power can be so soft and the smartness of "soft" power can be so hard.
p.s. Kudos to Spain's King Juan Carlos who could take no more of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's constant interruptions at last weekend's summit of the leaders of Spanish-speaking countries. Your highness, we are grateful to you for telling the out-of-control Chavez, "Por que no te callas." Translation? "Why don't you just shut up."