The Foreign Service Journal, February 2003

tive. But who will read it? How many foreign-born spouses are there? More than you’d think. The Family Liaison Office estimates a third of all spouses are foreign-born; Bender’s informal studies indicated half at Seoul and Tashkent. Who else should read it? Anyone ever in the Foreign Service. Anyone interested in cross-cultural marriages, or wanting a peek inside the lives of some very determined women. Finally, Foreign at Home and Away should be required reading for every new FSO—male or female, single or married. Far better, believe me, to understand the mysteries ahead. Ben Justesen, a former FSO, works as Director of Special Projects for the GED Testing Service, part of the American Council on Education. He and his wife Margaret live in Alexandria. Myopic Diplomacy Another Century of War? Gabriel Kolko, The New Press, 2002, $15.95, paperback, 150 pages. R EVIEWED BY D AVID W. B OYLE In Another Century of War? , noted historian Gabriel Kolko examines the premises and consequences of American foreign policy since the 1950s, which he condemns as coun- terproductive and reactive. In his view, American foreign policy-makers have not just been inept, but danger- ously shortsighted — so much so that their actions have actually under- mined our national security. As he puts it, “The United States’ interna- tional policies ... have produced con- summate failures. ... Neither realistic nor ethical, its foreign policy is a sham- bles of confusions and contradictions; pious, superficial morality combined with cynical adventurism. ...” The author builds his case by sur- veying American actions in the Middle East. He maintains that since the end of World War II, the United States has never understood the political com- plexities of the region, particularly the importance of Arab nationalism, and has supported corrupt, authoritarian regimes which have choked off legiti- mate dissent and left Islamic radicals as the only voice for reform. Nor have our attempts to practice “balance of power” diplomacy there fared any bet- ter: Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait in 1990 took place despite the fact that the U.S., Kuwait and Saudi Arabia had all strongly supported Iraq for nearly a decade as a counterweight to Iran. Turning to more recent develop- ments, Kolko grants that the recent military action by the United States in Afghanistan was a tactical victory, but he predicts that it will end in a strate- gic debacle in South Asia. By support- ing the Northern Alliance, the United States sped the defeat of the Taliban but at the cost of destabilizing Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, countries far more important to American security. As that example suggests, the source of these blunders is, in Kolko’s analysis, America’s willingness to sub- stitute tactical, military victories for long-term political and economic solu- tions. He points out that military vic- tories cannot solve the underlying problems — poverty, human rights abuses, and illiteracy — that spawn conflict. What is needed instead, is for the United States to clarify its goals in the world and ensure that its national interests match its military commit- ments, an assessment that Kolko believes will mean acknowledging the limits of American power and reduc- ing, or ending entirely, military inter- ventions abroad. He maintains that unless the United States adopts a for- eign policy that is far more modest, it — and the world — face another cen- tury of war. The work suffers from some weak- nesses, to be sure. At 150 pages, it is too slim to really prove the author’s thesis, particularly since he has an unfortunate tendency to repeat him- self and resort to overstatement (for example, he calls Russia a “military superpower”). In addition, Kolko sees no gray areas in political debate and spends little time discussing the limita- tions all politicians face in implement- ing policy. And his own foreign policy prescription is even less realistic than the ones he ridicules: “Everyone ... would be far better off if the United States did nothing, closed its bases overseas and withdrew its fleets every- where.” Even so, Another Century of War? succeeds at its main purpose, which is to examine the fundamentals of American diplomacy and to challenge the conventional wisdom of America’s foreign policy establishment. At a time when many in Washington are congratulating themselves premature- ly for victory in Afghanistan and plan- ning additional military action in Iraq, Kolko’s dissent is not only welcome but indispensable. FSO David Boyle has served in Lagos and Malabo. He is currently a watch officer in the Nuclear Risk Reduction Center. F E B R U A R Y 2 0 0 3 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 65 B O O K S Kolko deplores what he sees as America’s willingness to substitute tactical, military victories for long-term solutions.