by Sean Durns at Washington Examiner
America’s power and influence are waning in its own backyard while its enemies are steadily gaining ground. And the United States has only itself to blame. Through a series of policy errors, the U.S. is ceding the dominant position in its own hemisphere. As we approach the 200th anniversary of the Monroe Doctrine, it’s worth asking if that landmark strategic declaration is a dead letter.
For most of American history, Latin America has arguably been the chief driver of U.S. foreign policy. The last eight decades or so, with a focus on Europe and later the Middle East, can be seen as exceptions to the rule.
SPYING, BOTH AT HOME AND ABROAD, HAS BEEN ESSENTIAL TO CCP POWER
On Dec. 2, 1823, President James Monroe famously declared the “American continents … are henceforth not to be considered as subjects for future colonization by any European powers.”
Monroe’s message, largely drafted by Secretary of State John Quincy Adams, served as a bedrock American foreign policy idea for more than a century. As the historian Jay Sexton observed in his 2012 book on the subject, “Generations of Americans would proclaim that Monroe’s message embodied fundamental principles of American statecraft.”
At the time, France promised to help Spain recover its lost colonies in South America. England was determined to prevent its historic rivals from gaining ground and possibly threatening its commercial interests. The British crown offered to use its ample military means to forestall this possibility — an enticing offer considering that the U.S. didn’t have much of an army or navy at the time.
However, czarist Russia made clear that should the U.S. abandon its neutrality,…
Continue Reading