US Foreign Policy - Uni or Multilateralism?
You read in class from your book the basic elements of US foreign policy. In particular, we discussed unilateral and multilateral responses to foreign policy challenges. At the end of this post is a video of President Obama making a case for US foreign policy. In particular, the President stated that the past administration had made a grave mistake on our intervention in Iraq, ... "they used 20th century logic in dealing with a 21st century problem".
Please respond to President Obama's speech - does he make the point that we need a multilateral response to threats? Do we also need to consult with the United Nations before we respond to a threatening act by a nation or group? Do we always act in this way in matters of foreign policy?
Watch the speech here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1knWWGQUhY
Under prior presidents, the United States has frequently acted unilaterally on global issues, often sending troops overseas to deal with conflicts and such. This type of action has caused other countries and many of our allies to view the United States in a negative light. They view us as intrusive, belligerent, and uncooperative. This gives hostile nations all the more reason to be against America.
ReplyDeleteObama has only emphasized the point that we should work with other countries first before going into a situation. However, he does not go into detail of who/what/when/where/why/how. Although it is beneficial and in our best interest to cooperate with multilaterally with nations, Obama is giving such a speech for political and diplomatic purposes only.
At this time in history, the US should consult with the United Nations and other countries first and remediate tense relationships caused by past misdoings.
In my opinion, the President is saying that the US most definitely needs to take a multilateral approach to any foreign policy they engage in. Obama definitely sees that each nation cannot stand alone and we all must work together to solve the world's issues. But Obama feels that after 9/11, President Bush acted unilaterally and essentially incorrectly. The war in Iraq in his mind is and was deemed unnecessary, but it still happened. He feels that as our world progresses, a multilateral force is needed.
ReplyDeleteBut, as Xiao stated, Obama has not been clear on how the US should work with other nations. He mentions nothing about economics, even though that may be the root of multilateral operations. Overall, Obama feels that a unilateral foreign policy is only detrimental to the US.
In my opinion, if a nation chooses to be multilateral, they should most definitely work very closely with the UN, always seeking their approval on issues. But, as a nation, I do not feel that the US has always necessarily done this. When they have been in a hurry, they may have cut out the UN to save time while making a decision.
In the speech, Obama does make that point that we need a multilateral response to treats even though he doesn't say it. In my opinion, he is right, we should have been a multilateral nation from the beginning and we wouldn't be in the war with Iran till today. I agree with Megan when she says "Obama feels that after 9/11, President Bush acted unilaterally and essentially incorrectly." I think that is the whole reason why we are in a war. We should have handled our treats multilaterally.
ReplyDeleteI believe that we do need to inform the UN in anything and everything that we do, or plan to do because their whole purpose is to maintain international peace and security and I believe that nothing bad can come out of consulting them on the way that we are going to respond to our treats.
I feel that President Obama was correct that the world needs the U.S., and the U.S. needs the world. The US should work as a multilateral country in many cases as long as we are in contact with the UN. Consulting the UN will allow them to understand what our country is trying to achieve and therefore be more supportive throughout the time period.
ReplyDeleteObama makes a good point when he says that when global conflicts arise we need to act multilaterally. I think that we should have acted as a multilateral nation from the beginning. The War that is still going on the in the Middle East might be different and maybe, we would not be happening if we had acted as a multilateral nation. I agree with megan when she says, "Obama feels that after 9/11, President Bush acted unilaterally and essentially incorrectly." That is the reason we are in this mess. By acting unilaterally and not cooperating with other nations they are starting to view us as arrogant and hostile. Other nations don't want to help us when we act like this.
ReplyDeleteI think that the U.S. should consult with The United Nations before we respond to a threat. Clearly we have not done this in the past; 9/11 is one example. By consulting The United Nations we are creating peace and security among the nations.
President Obama definitely makes the point that multilateral responses are needed when reacting to threats. He says that America can not act on its own, and that other countries will also require multilateral responses, depending on American support. He specifically talks about 9/11, which was a major threat that we responded to with a unilateral reaction. He addressed the fact that it was an unwise decision and that it did not work out. This is a good idea, but it may turn out to be only an idea unless it is further developed and acted out.
ReplyDeleteIn order for the U.S. to act multilaterally, we must consult with the U.N. The U.N.'s approval shows that we have taken their opinions into consideration, which ensures we are acting multilaterally.
We have not always acted this way as a country. The U.S. has acted with unilateral responses many times in the past, especially when the issue on hand needs to be addressed quickly. The U.S. looks arrogant and inconsiderate when acting this way, which is more reason to adopt a multilateral foreign policy.
In my opinion, I believe the US is a unilateral power in a multilateral world. In the past, the war with Iraq ended up having devastating results. I believe that Obama should act multilaterally in situations regarding foreign policy in the long run. As a country, we still need support from our neighboring countries in case there is an emergency. This way we have someone to fall back on, and have some sort of protection. In the war with Iraq, more than 30 countries including the US participated in the invasion. The reason this seemed “unilateral” is because the US had the majority of the military power. Although there are cons to building a coalition such as compromising before taking any action, I believe the pros outweigh the cons because protection and safety are essential. In regards to consulting the UN, it would be wise to discuss the actions the US is going to take so the UN knows what is coming and how to act accordingly if anything were to go wrong. As Sharon said earlier, in order to maintain international peace and security, these nations must come to a compromise, otherwise we cannot move forward.
ReplyDeleteHe essentially said that we (the nations) must stick together when encountering a national problem. We need them and they need us. Obama is definitely very confident in multilateralism and cooperation with other cultures. Clearly, he thinks this is the way to go even when responding to terrifying attacks on our country, something I personally agree with completely. However, it didn't seem as though he thought that was the only way to deal with these problems. He also included the usual egotistical 'American' ideology of the U.S. being the leader of the future, and that as leader we must control others by example, like manipulative multilateralism. Perhaps our president didn't mean it, but it definitely sounded that way to me.
ReplyDeleteIn this speech President Obama clearly makes a point that in the past the United States has taken a unilateral approach to foreign policy. He does in fact state that we need to take a multilateral approach to foreign policy. He gives examples of how a unilateral approach has not worked in the past including 9/11. If the United States was to take a multilateral approach it would have to go through the United Nations. With the approval of the United Nations we would be much more effective in foreign affairs because we would have a lot more help. In the past the United States has rarely acted in a multilateral way, but more of a unilateral way. Most of the countries in the UN did not agree with the United States going into Iraq and Afghanistan although we did it anyway. If we are going to be effective in governing the world we need to take a multilateral approach.
ReplyDeleteIn the video, President Obama makes it very clear that multilateral responses are needed when reacting to any form of threats. Obama states that other countries will also require multilateral responses and that America can not stand alone. One major threat which Obama mentions is 9/11. We responded to 9/11 with a unilateral reaction. Obama stated that it was an unsuccessful decision. There is no doubt that the plan must be elaborated on. The US must consult with the U.N. so we may act multilaterally. If the US had the approval of the U.N. we would have a lot more help. In the past the US has acted in a unilateral way. To succeed in governing the world we need the aproval of the U.N. and we need to be multilateral.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with Sharon when she says we should have been a multilateral country from the beginning. I agree with her when she says things would definitely be different today if our country had been that way from the start.
ReplyDelete"America can not meet the threats of this century alone, but the world can not meet them without America" It's important that the United States needs to use multilateralic approachs when it comes to dealing with treats. Yes, indeed in the past the United States has acted both unilateral and multilateral and have looked at problems the wrong way. Getting approval from the U.N. is a good approach for the U.S. because once the U.N. agrees we have full back when and if it is needed without stepping on some toes.
ReplyDeleteIn this speech President Obama points out that during the presidential administration preceding his, America made a lot of unilateral foreign policy decisions. He believes these decisions were a bad call on the previous administration's part, and most obviously that the war in Iraq was a mistake. This, along with his plugging of leading the world's nations by example, shows that he is wholly for a multilateral foreign policy for America. One good point he makes to support his belief is that America needs the world, but the world needs America as well. If we want help with our problems, we had better help other nations with theirs. A great way to do this is to simply contact other nations about foreign policy plans and collaborate.
ReplyDeletePresident Obama said in his speech that the United States should be making multilateral decisions. Also that it is important to have the backing of the world in this day and age. As President Obama said we cannot meet the threats of this world by ourselves. This is why we need to have the backing of the United Nations when making decisions. When we have the support of others these tasks In situations like Iraq we have acted unilaterally and that was successful, today we need to act with other nations so that these problems can be solved faster and more efficiently.
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