A New Isolationism

A New Isolationism
by Mitch Frank

If only George Washington had kept his damn mouth shut!

Our first commander-in-chief and first president certainly made his share of heroic contributions to this nation. But I wish he had not made that last speech of his about not getting involved in “entangling alliances.” Oh, don’t get me wrong, I think entangling alliances suck, but at the same time, George’s words have been used by every new generation of isolationists this country produces. I’m sure some moron used them on the floor of the U.S. Senate last week.

Although I failed to watch C-Span 2 during the entire debate and vote that killed off the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), I watched quite a bit, and I’m sure some Republican snuck George’s famous speech in there at some point. God knows you can’t quote Ronald Reagan all the time.

The CTBT, as fancy columnists such as myself call it, was a pact between the nations of the world not to test any nuclear weapons. Currently, there is a treaty in place that bans aboveground, atmospheric and underwater testing of nukes. The CTBT would expand that to underground testing which the United States still does, though not since President Bush placed a moratorium on it in 1992. The treaty has been signed by quite a few nations, although only about half have ratified it. Now, the U.S. Senate has decided they would rather not sign it.

Now, let me get a few misconceptions about the CTBT out of the way:

1) The United States does not need to test nuclear weapons. It has devised sophisticated computer models that do the job fairly well. In 40 years, America might need to begin testing again as it modernizes its nuclear arsenal, but considering the changing face of the planet, who knows what our military needs will be in 40 years. About 40 years ago we thought Southeast Asia was a vital military interest.

2) While many Republicans kept incessantly quoting Reagan’s famous words about the importance of verifying nuclear arms control treaties in their debate, the CTBT is not any less verifiable than all of Reagan’s treaties with the Soviet Union. Modern technology has advanced to the point where its pretty easy to tell when someone has tested a nuclear device. It goes like this:

“What was that noise?”

“What noise?”

“Did you just test a nuclear device?”

“Oh noooo. I had refried beans for lunch.”

“Then why is there a giant crater over there, and why did our Richter scale meters register an underground nuclear explosion?”

“Very smart gophers?”

3) While it is true that rogue nations such as North Korea and Iraq might continue to develop nuclear weapons despite signing the treaty, it would discourage many other nations from following suit. Moreover, a CTBT sets an example for the entire world that the wanton spread of nuclear arms will not be tolerated in the 21st century.

By killing this treaty the Senate has effectively told the world that the leading nuclear superpower sees no need to stop the entry of more countries into the nuclear circle, as long as it does not cut into our status as the top nuclear dog. Now I think there are two reasons for the Republicans’ decision to not only stop this treaty, but to not even hold a reasonable, lengthy debate on it.

The first is simple, bitter politics.

Ratification of that treaty would have been a victory for President Clinton, and Trent Lott and many in his party have proven theywill not allow the president to win. Foreign policy has always been the domain of presidents, and Senate ratification, while sometimes tricky, is usually assumed unless there are gross problems with a treaty. The last time a treaty of this magnitude was defeated it was the Treaty of Versailles.

But the obvious disdain Republican Senators have for the man they failed to remove from office has made them willing to make the country’s business a game of revenge. Ratifying that treaty would have allowed that Clinton has made some admirable accomplishment and that despite its somewhat erratic nature, his foreign policy has had some success stories. Not bad for the first president to try to grapple with the chaos of the post-cold war world.

But there is a second reason the CTBT was defeated, and honestly, it frightens me more. Bubba Clinton will leave office one day. But a new Republican isolationism could stick around for a long time.

America has a long history of isolationism. After all, this is a nation settled by people fleeing the Old World. Many of the first people to settle here where religious pilgrims looking for a “new Jerusalem.” A shining city on a hill - a light for the rest of the world.

Thus, when George spoke his famous words about staying out of the world’s business as he left office, it was par for the course for America. America was a new nation with plenty of resources and two big oceans separating it from the rest of the world. We didn’t need the rest of the world.

There’s a reason America didn’t get into WWI or WWII until two to three years after they started. But after those wars, America did not have a choice about staying isolated. The Cold War was in full swing. There was no question about America being a part of that dance.

But now that the big chill with the USSR has thawed, the world is not the simple place it used to be. Whereas foreign policy used to be about containing communism, it’s now about the Third World, and ethnic rivalries, and the United Nations. And that seems to pose a big problem for Republicans. While Clinton has tried and failed and sometimes succeeded in working with the United Nations and the rest of the world to solve foreign conflicts and problems, Republicans have complained.

Republicans seem to fail to understand why the United States needs to work with the rest of the world. After all, they say, we won the Cold War. We’re the only true superpower left. We should be calling the shots and telling the rest of the world what to do. But we live in an increasingly smaller world where nations have to work with each other. The United States rules the world in a time when there are no colonies, no puppet regimes – in a time when all nations have self-determination.

We also live in a time when nations can communicate and share ideas and work together like never before. And yet, for all their independence, most nations are looking to the U.S. for leadership by example. They want to make their own decisions, but they value our opinion. Thus when America fails to ratify an arms control treaty or fails to pay its dues to the United Nations and yet demands the organization reform itself to the U.S. Congress’ specifications, it sends a negative message to the rest of the world – Don’t bother working with us. Go back to your regional conflicts.

This is an important time in foreign policy, not a time to stick our heads in the sand. Those who call for a new isolation should remember that while America is surrounded by oceans, it cannot afford to withdraw again from the world.

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