The Twelve-Step Recovery Program For American Grand Strategy

from

GREAT POWERS:

America and the World after Bush

By Thomas P. M. Barnett  

1. ADMIT THAT WE AMERICANS ARE POWERLESS OVER GLOBALIZATION.  

2. COME TO BELIEVE THAT ONLY A BIPARTISANSHIP FAR GREATER THAN THAT DISPLAYED BY OUR NATIONAL LEADERS CAN RESTORE SANITY TO AMERICA'S FOREIGN AFFAIRS.  

3. MAKE THE DECISION TO COORDINATE ALL ELEMENTS OF AMERICA'S NATIONAL POWER ACCORDING TO A GRAND STRATEGY THAT WE HAVE COLLECTIVELY DEFINED.  

4. MAKE A SEARCHING AND FEARLESS MORAL INVENTORY OF THE "GLOBAL WAR ON TERROR."  

5. ADMIT TO THE WORLD AND TO OURSELVES THE EXACT NATURE OF OUR MISTAKES IN IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN.  

6. WE ARE ENTIRELY READY TO WORK WITH THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY TO REMOVE THE DEFECTS OF WARTIME INJUSTICE.  

7. HUMBLY ASK THE INCOMING PRESIDENT TO REVERSE AMERICA'S RECENT UNILATERALISM.  

8. MAKE A LIST OF ALL THE GREAT POWERS WHOSE NATIONAL INTERESTS WE HAVE HARMED, AND BECOME WILLING TO MAKE CONCESSIONS TO THEM ALL.

9. MAKE DIRECT OVERTURES TO VIOLENT NONSTATE ACTORS WHENEVER POSSIBLE, EXCEPT WHEN DOING SO WOULD DAMAGE EXISTING ALLIANCES.  

10. CONTINUE TO REVIEW OUR GOAL OF ACCELERATED DEMOCRATIZATION AND, WHEN WE ARE WRONG IN OUR STRATEGIC APPROACH, PROMPTLY ADMIT IT.  

11. SEEK TO CREATE STRATEGIC ALLIANCES WITH RISING POWERS THROUGH DIPLOMATIC LINKAGES AND MILITARY-TO-MILITARY COOPERATION.  

12. HAVING HAD A STRATEGIC AWAKENING AS THE RESULT OF THESE STEPS, AMERICA MUST TRY TO SELL THIS GRAND STRATEGY TO THE WORLD, AND PRACTICE THESE PRINCIPLES IN ALL ITS EFFORTS TO SHRINK THE GAP AND MAKE GLOBALIZATION TRULY GLOBAL.

From GREAT POWERS, to be published by G. P. Putnam's on February 5, 2009.