I hear they haven't cured cancer, either

Posted By Daniel W. Drezner Tuesday, December 2, 2008 - 1:16 PM Share

From today's New York Times editorial about Obama's foreign policy team:

Another failing of the Bush administration was that neither the president nor his two secretaries of state were “closers” who could set a foreign-policy goal (Israeli-Palestinian peace, for instance) and then develop and execute a strategy to achieve it. We have more faith that the Obama-Clinton duo will do so.

Look, there's a lot of fault to find in the current administration, but if the bar for success is closing the deal on an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal, well, then every administration in American history has failed. I have marginally greater confidence that an Obama-Clinton team can move the ball forward on a peace deal. I have no faith in any American administration to actually achieve real peace in the region anytime soon. There's a difference between having an ideological affinity for a politician and consuming multiple shots of Kool-Aid within a single minute. I think this editorial falls under the latter category. As Anton Ego would say, the NYT editorial team could use some perspective. They should go read this Robert D. Kaplan essay.

EXPLORE:MEDIASPHERE, U.S. FOREIGN POLICY, OBAMA

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BRETT

3:40 PM ET

December 2, 2008

I think what we can do is try

I think what we can do is try to help the Palestinians build up the instruments and structures of government in the Occupied Territories, like police and so forth. That way, if the Two-State Solution ever gets off the ground, there will be a Palestinian proto-state that can become a real state.

DAN D

3:42 PM ET

December 2, 2008

This is another Dan D, not

This is another Dan D, not Prof Drezner

Robert Kaplan is One Who Shall Not Be Acknowledged, Nor Listened To, in the NYT world view. Any "perspective" he might offer is offensive and tainted by his Incorrect Thoughts and unseemly association with warmongering neocons.

Just thought you needed your own perspective on the Correct View of the world.

RALPH HITCHENS

5:57 PM ET

December 2, 2008

The NYT is guilty of using a

The NYT is guilty of using a bad example. So long as the strongest player in the region (which also has the greatest ability to manipulate US public opinion) holds back from a serious endorsement of the two-state solution, no US administration is going to make much headway. A better example might be normalizing our relationship with Iran. This is something the new administration has a decent chance of doing.

SJC

8:01 AM ET

December 3, 2008

I agree with Ralph - it was a

I agree with Ralph - it was a bad example, not an accusation of failing. The NYT is saying here that the Bush Administration was unable to set foreign policy goals and the means to achieve them - which I think is fair. (Although I would conceed that they had success with some of their lesser profile stuff in Africa such as AIDS, etc)

THOMAS ESMOND KNOX

4:47 AM ET

December 6, 2008

Unable to set foreign policy

Unable to set foreign policy goals, arrange the means to achieve them and then achieve the goals.

1. Have Saddam Hussein permanently removed from power in Iraq.

2. Have North Korea cease development of nuclear weapons

3. Improve the diplomatic situation re Libya

4. Improve the diplomatic situation re India