Perspective: Critics of a hawkish China policy should remember they can’t win without appeals to emotion, identity and patriotism
for U.S. foreign policy and blasted the United States as a racist empire in a moment of profound patriotism and mourning for Americans. The disjuncture between the culture of the moment and the leftists’ rhetoric left many unwilling to even consider their arguments. Moreover, theat major antiwar rallies made it easier to dismiss the left as instinctively anti-American.
The critics’ struggle to move the public or political elites reflected how getting the arguments right often means little in foreign policy debates that stem more from questions of emotion and identity than coldhearted realism. Instead, arguments need to resonate emotionally and appeal to Americans’ identities and patriotism.
A then little-known antiwar Illinois state senator named Barack Obama understood this. In a 2002 speech to an antiwar rally, he readily acknowledged the validity of Americans’ fears about security and the need to hunt down the perpetrators of 9/11. He conceded that Hussein was “brutal” and “ruthless” — someone whom the world and the Iraqi people would be better off without.Obama also emphasized his patriotism and willingness to support necessary wars like World War II.
Yet he opposed invading Iraq because it was “dumb” and “rash” and the nation should not ask its soldiers to “make such an awful sacrifice” for an unnecessary war. Obama blended realist and liberal critiques of the war, but he effectively added appeals to emotion, identity and patriotism. And that’s crucial for advocates of a restrained foreign policy — one that relies more on persuasion, alliances and institutions than raw might. In coming years, the restrainers will confront unreconstructed hawks who aim to ramp up
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