The Foreign Service Journal, December 2022

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | DECEMBER 2022 99 than protect the United States from its adversaries.” The administration’s risk aversion produced reluctance to engage in future foreign, complex issues (Syria); visions of a failed state (Iraq) strength- ened hesitancy. Difficulties in Afghani- stan multiplied these doubts. Chorin concludes by discussing the enduring influence of Benghazi on American policy formulation. As recently as August 2021, Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) referred to the cha- otic American withdrawal from Afghan- istan as Benghazi 2.0. The Week , on Aug. 19, 2021, published “Are Demo- crats Going to Benghazi Biden? ,” noting that four Democrat-controlled congressional committees were open- ing hearings on the withdrawal from Afghanistan. The eagerness of politicians to criti- cize policies, while well placed to avoid bearing responsibility for their imple- mentation, gives strength to Chorin’s analysis of Benghazi’s lingering effects. Policy recommendations by experts, if considered at all, are often overridden by less-informed political appointees or elected officials. How many of us have sent in recom- mendations for action only to be told Washington sees the bigger picture? Usually this means that domestic politi- cal considerations weigh more heavily in the calculus than do concerns for achieving objectives abroad. And it’s easy to see that administra- tions of both parties have a strong aver- sion to testifying before another con- gressional committee to explain another American official’s death abroad. The bipartisan reactions following the terror- ist attacks on our embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam, against the USS Cole in Aden, and those of Sept. 11, 2001, all seem buried in the distant past. Until today’s partisan divide is some- how overcome, it seems likely that risk aversion will remain the dominant force in our foreign policy. This is not likely to strengthen our reputation for reliability and constancy in carrying out our com- mitments abroad. Chorin gives us much to think about. His analysis calls to mind Philip Gor- don’s Losing the Long Game: The False Promise of Regime Change in the Middle East (2020) and Andrew Bacevich’s After the Apocalypse: America’s Role in a World Transformed (2021), both dis- cussing the implications of our reduced influence in the world. Maps, a list of principal characters, and a timeline at the front help the reader keep track of events and person- alities. An extensive bibliography and endnotes at the rear help those wanting more details. Written in a light, readable style, the chapters are short, allowing you to put it down whenever you need to do something else. This is a book worth reading. n Charles O. Cecil is a retired Foreign Service officer. His 10 overseas assignments in- cluded six in the Arab world. He served as U.S. ambassador to Niger (1996-1999) and as chargé d’affaires in Libya (2006-2007). Until today’s partisan divide is somehow overcome, it seems likely that risk aversion will remain the dominant force in our foreign policy.