CHARLOTTESVILLE Three major foreign policy decisions must be made by the Obama administration by the end of the year: (1) whether to increase U.S. troop strength in Afghanistan; (2) how to persuade Iran DONALD
NUECHTERLEIN
to abandon its nuclear weapons program; (3) how much pressure to exert on Israel and Arab countries to end the Palestine conflict. Afghanistan is the most crucial.

CHARLOTTESVILLE Arecent visit to my ex-home state of Michigan convinced me that Virginia, for all its current budget problems, is far better off than this cradle of America’s auto industry. July’s unemployment rate in Michigan stood at 15.6 percent, well above the national average, while Virginia’s jobless figure was 6.9 percent. Michigan’s projected budget deficit for 2010 exceeds $2 billion, while Virginia’s is half that. Michigan’s governor, Jennifer Granholm, has cut many worthy programs and released prison inmates.

CHARLOTTESVILLE The recent death of Robert McNamara, secretary of defense to presidents John Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson, produced numerous editorial comments that cited his later view that the Vietnam War had been a tragic mistake. McNamara related in several books and interviews that he realized early on that the Vietnam War was not winnable and that he continued as defense secretary out of loyalty to the Kennedy-Johnson administrations. It is noteworthy that Cyrus Vance, McNamara’s deputy secretary from 1964 to 1967, resigned when it was clear to him that the cost of the war would be far higher than anticipated.

CHARLOTTESVILLEAfew months ago the director of National Intelligence, Dennis Blair, told Congress that instability in many countries caused by the global economic crisis was the primary near-term security threat to the United States. He added that many countries were questioning America’s economic and financial leadership of the world. Two important countries that question U.S. economic and financial leadership are China and Germany.

Barack Obama seems determined to start early in his presidency to engage in Middle East diplomacy, in contrast to George W. Bush, who waited until his final year in office to get seriously engaged. The president traveled to Europe two months ago to meet with world leaders, and he will be in Egypt this week to make a major appeal to Middle East countries to resolve their conflicts on a range of issues.

President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton face three formidable challenges in their meetings this week in London, Brussels, and Ankara. Each presents a dilemma for Obama and his administration.

CHARLOTTESVILLE Today America finds itself at a crossroads in its relations with the world, similar to the situation it faced in 1969 as it began the withdrawal from Vietnam. A look at recent history is useful in putting the current difficult situation in perspective. After the Cold War ended and the USSR imploded in 1991, Americans became complacent about this country’s role in the world. From 1991 to 2001, during the terms of George Bush 1, Bill Clinton, and George Bush 2, the United States exercised hegemonic influence in the world. We were the only superpower and we expected others to agree with our major foreign policies.

CHARLOTTESVILLE The United States has fought four costly wars since 1945 and none of them ended as World War II did, with complete victory. In Korea, after nearly three years of huge American troop casualties, the war ended in 1953 in a draw with North and South Korea divided along roughly the same border they had at the start of the war.

CHARLOTTESVILLE Some pundits and historians say that George Bush will leave the White House with a legacy of being among the worst presidents in American history. Before rushing to judgment, we should recall that Harry Truman left office in 1953 with lower approval ratings than does George Bush. Today, however, Truman is regarded as a great president for rescuing Europe after World War II and building the Atlantic Alliance, which eventually persuaded Moscow to end the Cold War.