Global Partners: Narrowing the Focus of US Foreign Policy‪.‬

AT HIS CONFIRMATION HEARINGS IN 1993, US Secretary of State Warren Christopher made a resolute pledge: "I want to assure the American people that we will not turn their blood and treasure into an open account for use by the rest of the world." His message was in stark contrast to US attitudes less than 50 years ago, when President John F. Kennedy expressed the nation's willingness "to pay any price, and bear any burden" in the name of global security and President Harry S. Truman assured the world that "we will devote our strength, our resources, and our firmness of resolve" to its wellbeing, proclaiming that "the initiative is ours." The United States needs to examine the causes of this dramatic shift in attitude so that it can structure a new approach to foreign affairs, one which takes into account the United States' new position as a lone superpower, with significant financial burdens in an increasingly complex world. Twice this century, as the world emerged from the fires of global war, the United States emerged as the dominant power, spreading an optimistic vision of freedom and democracy. As the United States' global prestige and prominence grew, so did the country's opportunities and responsibilities. As the new leader of the free world, the United States had established itself in the aftermath of World War II as a bona fide political, economic, and military superpower. Consequently, for much of the twentieth century, the United States assumed the role of the world's policeman--safeguarding and promoting open societies and open economies across the globe, and keeping often-conflicting spheres of influence in a careful, calculated balance.