March 19, 2020
9/11 swallowed U.S. foreign policy. Don’t let the coronavirus do the same thing.
For two decades, American foreign policy has been shaped by the 9/11 attacks. The catastrophic wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, our failure to see the full threat posed by Russian President Vladimir Putin until the 2016 election and our lack of focus on China’s rise — the most important geopolitical development of the early 21st century — are all partly a function of our obsession with counterterrorism and Middle East conflict in the aftermath of 9/11.
The coronavirus pandemic might finally change that, because the sheer magnitude of the crisis can — should — force an overdue rethinking of our foreign policy priorities that’s long overdue.
The Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks became the filter for the foreign policy community, the media and American public to view events around the world, many times putting disproportionate emphasis on Middle East conflict, shaping how policymakers and the military implement and prioritize U.S. objectives.
Read the full article in The Washington Post.
More from CNAS
-
America’s Self-Loathing Is a Losing Hand
Commentary
This article was originally published in The Washington Post.Around 10 years ago, the United States began a historic shift in its grand strategy toward China, abandoning the b...
By David Feith
-
Commentary
Indo-Pacific Security / Energy, Economics & Security / Technology & National Security
Selling AI Chips Won’t Keep China Hooked on U.S. TechnologyU.S. policy should not rest on the illusion that selling chips can trap China inside the American tech ecosystem....
By Janet Egan
-
Will New Delhi-Beijing Move Beyond Friction Points? | Ex-White Official On India-China Reset
Video
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that India and China, as two major economies, must work together to bring stability to the global economic order. NDTV's Gaurie Dwi...
By Lisa Curtis
-
How Big Will China’s Nuclear Arsenal Get?
Commentary
China’s nuclear expansion is already feeding an arms race—a contest that is accelerating partly because the finish line remains unknown....
By Jacob Stokes
