As the race for the mid-term election reaches its pinnacle point on November 2nd, the focal point of this election has been on one singular issue; the economy. The economy has dominated the coverage, with each candidate running for U.S. Congress and the Senate stating what he or she will do to revive the stagnant U.S. economy.
The publics overriding concern this election has been the economy and unemployment. Afghanistan and terrorism have ranked near the bottom of concern for most people. The economy is foremost in people’s minds and they want Washington to solve this now!
Left completely out of the debate is any mention of Afghanistan, Iraq, or what should our policy be toward China. Considering that China artificially keeps its currency at a lower level against western currency, therefore making its imports in to the U.S. cheaper, but more expensive for U.S. imports. This equates to job losses for U.S. citizens, and guess what - not even mentioned in any campaign.
In 2011, international trade deals will need to be re-negotiated with Latin America, Korea and other nations. Other nations such as China are moving in to fill the gap left by the U.S., preventing the creation of jobs in the U.S. and again - no mention of it in any campaign.
Immigration gets a mention only in campaign commercials, but no serious discussion on solutions of what Mexico’s responsibility should be?
“Has there been a serious exchange between any candidates—Tea Party, Republican, Vegetarian, Libertarian, Democrat, Bureaucrat—about what we should be doing with Iran?” asks Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham South Carolina (who is not up for reelection this year). He said, “Have you seen one commercial about whether our Afghan strategy is good or bad? We’re within days, literally, of a major shift in power in Washington,” Graham told an audience in the capital recently, “and you would never know that this nation is involved in two wars, and looming threats face us all that could change the course of humanity and mankind.”
In December, the White House will conduct its planned Afghanistan strategy review to provide an assessment of the counterinsurgency strategy begun by General Stanley McChrystal, and now overseen by General David Petraeus. This after the president committed an additional 30,000 troops as part of his planned surge strategy articulated in December 2009. Items barely mentioned by either candidate or even the president.
Failure to focus on foreign policy has haunted the United States in the past. At the end of World War I the U.S. rejected the League of Nations and retreated inward and allowed a resurrected Germany to threaten world peace. At the end of the Cold War, and the stunning victory in the Gulf War, the U.S. moved to focus on internal domestic matters.
American leadership is pivotal in world politics, even President Obama campaigned on building global leadership, partnering with allies and reaching out to America’s enemies. The president has failed to convey to the public the need for active involvement in world affairs. Rarely has the president spoken on Iraq, Afghanistan, or any foreign issues except when it reaches a crisis point. The president then pivots to other topics, leaving the situation to simmer, turning a blind eye to the heated climate, until the situation escalates to a boiling point.
After removing itself from its bloody intervention in Somalia, and having forced the Russians out of Afghanistan, the U.S. retreated back to focusing on domestic issues. Without U.S. leadership, the Taliban was able to take over and allow Al Qaeda to rise, and before September 11th terrorism was seen as a minor issue to Americans and U.S. policy makers.
The U.S. needs to force candidates running for U.S. Congress and the Senate to address how they would deal with these pressing issues. If the president is not addressing them, then how can we expect anyone else to?
Sometimes it takes an event to wake America up to the dangers around us.
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