February 17, 2004
Krauthammer redefines the Bush Doctrine as "Democratic Realism"
Democratic Realism:
An American Foreign Policy for a Unipolar World
This is the text of a speech that Charles Krauthammer gave on Feb. 12 at the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, before which he was introduced by VP Dick Cheney.
I cannot and do not wish to excerpt from this because you need to read the whole, brilliant piece, even though it's a bit long.
It's a very thoughful explanation and elucidation of the Bush Doctrine in action and emphasizes why it should be the direction our nation goes in the foreseeable future.
Here are his closing paragraphs to give you an idea of how insightful Krauthammer's remarks are:
[...]
In October 1962, during the Cuban Missile crisis, we came to the edge of the abyss. Then, accompanied by our equally shaken adversary, we both deliberately drew back. On September 11, 2001, we saw the face of Armageddon again, but this time with an enemy that does not draw back. This time the enemy knows no reason.
Were that the only difference between now and then, our situation would be hopeless. But there is a second difference between now and then: the uniqueness of our power, unrivaled, not just today but ever. That evens the odds. The rationality of the enemy is something beyond our control. But the use of our power is within our control. And if that power is used wisely, constrained not by illusions and fictions but only by the limits of our mission--which is to bring a modicum of freedom as an antidote to nihilism--we can prevail.
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