A wide-ranging critique of Clinton's foreign policy that will
please those frustrated over the continuing popularity of a
president focused on domestic issues. Criticizing Clinton's foreign
policy is like spearing fish in a barrel - it's so easy, there is
no real sport in it. Moreover, there is a built-in bias toward the
negative: if something has gone badly, it is a debacle, but if
something goes well, then we have to wait and see how things turn
out before passing judgment. Hyland, former editor of Foreign
Affairs (Mortal Rivals: Superpower Relations from Nixon to Reagan,
1987), is not deterred. Starting from the premise that Clinton
inherited a world in better shape than any other modern president,
albeit briefly touching upon and minimizing the problems created by
Bush's foreign policy of "prudence," Hyland systematically explores
foreign policy issues and records the ways in which Clinton has
botched them. Interventions in the Balkans, Somalia, and Haiti,
negotiating Middle East peace agreements, relations with Russia,
China, and Japan, responding to the Asian financial crisis, and
more are addressed. Throughout, patterns of hesitancy,
unwillingness to designate authority until matters have reached a
crisis stage, and placement of emphasis on economic diplomacy and
international trade over the traditional concerns of security and
geopolitics are identified and excoriated. Clinton's transformation
from idealist to pragmatist is noted, and seemingly some criticism
is blunted, but Hyland doesn't shrink from a strong conclusion:
adopting an ad hoc "selective engagement" approach instead of a
clear direction for American foreign policy has meant that "a
magnificent historical opportunity to shape the international
system had been missed." Clinton's blunders invite this kind of
harsh criticism, but the irony here is that Clinton forfeited the
chance to lead the world in a dramatic new direction when he
followed the advice of veteran foreign policy hands such as Hyland
and turned himself into Bush. Like the recent American foreign
policy he chronicles, Hyland eschews any positive theme. (Kirkus
Reviews)
No modern U.S. president inherited a stronger, safer
international position than Bill Clinton. In 1992, the Cold War was
over, and the nation was at peace and focused on domestic issues.
Despite this temporary tranquility, Clinton would soon be faced
with a barrage of crises, including flare-ups of unrest in the
Middle East, ethnic conflict in Yugoslavia, uneasy relations with
Japan and China, persistent trouble in the Persian Gulf, the
dissolution of the USSR, and disastrous situations in Somalia and
Haiti.
In this comprehensive and balanced examination of Clinton's
foreign policy--the first such book to cover all the global focal
points of his administration to date--William G. Hyland brilliantly
shows the effects of combining this confusion with Clinton's unique
personality characteristics. His first term was marked, in the
author's analysis, by murky policy, unrealistic goals, and the
mishandling of several crises. By the end of that term he learned
some hard lessons, was able to alter his pattern of response, and
reversed himself on some major aspects of foreign policy--all to
benefit, in the author's view, the country and the world as a
whole.
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