It's Called a Foreign Policy

I used "Win" in my previous post in the internet sense of the word, denoting a small victory. I don't think Russia is trustworthy, but I do think it is better to have them going along with possible sanctions against Iran than the other way around, as would have probably been the case if we didn't scrap the pointless and costly missile defense system the Bush administration wanted to install in Poland and the Czech Republic.

I find this development today more encouraging. The U.S., U.K. and France have gone public with intelligence that Iran has a hidden uranium enrichment plant. I don't think anyone should be surprised about this revelation, but letting Iran and Russia know that we know about it is an important step in gaining support for either weapons inspectors to be allowed into Iran, or sanctions to be put in place. Sanctions don't always work and they can have unintended consequences but it is one tool we have and it is important to try.

It has been so song since the United States has had a foreign policy beyond "you're either with us or with the terr'rists" that some people don't know what it is supposed to look like. It should be about building coalitions with other countries, some of whom may have competing interests, to try to achieve progress on particular issues. In this instance, it would be stopping Iran's nuclear program without resorting to bombing them, as I believe we cannot afford to open up a third front in this war.

Despite what some may want you to believe, it is not 1938, and Vladimir Putin, though he is not a good guy, is not Adolph Hitler trying to take over Europe. Foreign Policy doesn't have to be a zero-sum game where you either get every concession you want right away or bombs away. I find the resignation, and in some cases nihilism, on the right in this country to be disappointing and unfounded, be it with regard to foreign policy, health care, etc. They seem to be overcome with woe at the state of the world, but devoid of ideas on how to fix any of it besides bombs and free market platitudes. Sometimes a military solution is the only one left but the President has a duty to exhaust every other avenue first. Most previous presidents, Democratic and Republican, knew this.

EDIT: After I made the post above I saw that Andrew Sullivan came to much the same conclusion, only he's a little more pissed off. It's worth a look.