Doctrine of Preemption

Our military forces are now badly overextended across the planet. At the same time the Bush administration is hinting at an attack on Iran or Syria. If the neoconservatives and Likudniks succeed in selling the President on the merits of striking Iran, might North Korea decide that it will be hit next, and that the time is opportune to preemptively attack a US ally or target?

The doctrine of preemption has helped elevate North Korea to underdog status in world opinion, when it should continue be regarded as an international pariah. The Bush administration has so badly weakened our moral leadership and constrained our military options that many nations would find it amusing for the US to take a hit from North Korea and suffer further damage to our reputation and military assets.

Why is moral leadership important? It is an attribute that causes others to support and sacrifice for us and for shared principles voluntarily. Without moral leadership, we have only the authority that flows from the barrel of a gun. Our venture into Iraq is teaching us that the maintenance of such authority requires the expenditure of enormous sums in blood and treasure.

International Criminal Court

The US needs to reestablish the moral leadership it assumed after WW II, when it prosecuted Nazi war crimes. The most vulnerable ares of the world, particularly Africa, need a highly visible and vigorous champion against the perpetrators of genocide and other atrocities. Our engagement with the International Criminal Court can be progressive, but the time for engagement is now.

China Policy

China is rapidly modernizing its military, both nuclear and conventional. China has repeatedly warned that it would attack Taiwan if it declared independence. China is the largest buyer of weaponry on world markets.

The EU should maintain its ban on the sale of weapon systems to China, and the US and EU should develop contingency plans for a comprehensive regime of economic "smart" sanctions against China, as well as any nation that sells weaponry to China. The benefits of economic ties with the west should be more closely tied to improved Chinese environmental and labor practices, as well as the dismantling of totalitarian institutions and practices.

The US should renounce military support for Taiwan. A Chinese attack on Taiwan is unlikely, especially given the mainland's desperate need for economic investment from Taiwan and the rest of the world.

North Korea

China has much to gain from watching the US squirm over North Korea's nuclear antics. The Korean "Cold War" keeps US troops tied up, and allows China more leeway to threaten Taiwan. China is also deeply suspicious of US moitives in the region. Don't bet on China keeping its longtime ally on a short leash.

The US should set a timetable for the gradual withdrawal of its troops from South Korea, in order to defuse a dangerous situation in the North that could escalate into a nuclear exchange. We do have leverage with South Korea, and they should gradually be nudged into forging significant and progressivley more substantial economic ties with the North.