Vote in November to help the U.S. find its way in the world again

When Americans elect a president, they choose a commander in chief. For that reason, as they consider who should lead the nation, issues of war and peace are often front and center. Not this time. As the 2020 election approaches, domestic concerns — the COVID-19 pandemic, acute economic distress and demands for reckoning with pervasive racism — are crowding out questions related to the nation’s global role.

But to ignore what is happening beyond our borders is to overlook this important truth: Since the end of the Cold War, now three decades ago, the United States has lost its way in the world. Under President Trump, things have only gotten worse.

Today, foreign policy defined as a principled and consistent pattern of behavior has ceased to exist. All that remain are noise and gestures, baffling our traditional allies and delighting those eager to take advantage of the bedlam that currently prevails in Washington.

The essential problem is twofold: Those responsible for charting post-Cold War U.S. policy have misconstrued core U.S. interests. And they have vastly overestimated and therefore recklessly misused American military power.

Read the full article in the Los Angeles Times.