The original Nixon Doctrine didn't turn out that well either. When American troops left, South Vietnam crumbled. The Shah of Iran, America's bulwark against Soviet meddling in the Persian Gulf, used the threat of communist subversion to establish a dictatorship. A few years later, the ayatollahs were in power.
In the short run, we may have little choice but to outsource parts of our foreign policy. But in the longer term, America will pay dearly for its inability to lead. The return of the Nixon Doctrine is one of the hidden costs of the war in Iraq. And it is another reason that, unless Iraq's leaders quickly forge a political compact across sectarian lines, America must leave. When that happens, U.S. policymakers will be able to scan the globe anew, with more time and resources at their command. Then the U.S. can abandon the Nixon Doctrine once and for all.
Peter Beinart
Time Magazine, 1/15/2007
This blog will focus on political images I have found all around the Internet, though I will intersperse some commentary and quotes that I find interesting.
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