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The Bolton saga is also emblematic of a difficult discussion the Right is having about foreign policy and military intervention - harsh but inevitable after the events of the past two decades. Both the world and America's national identity have changed in profound ways.
The cases made by people like Bolton or Mattis for military intervention, or maintaining an American presence in trouble spots, are often well-thought-out and persuasive - but we just don't want to stay in these places forever.
For all the controversy over Iraq, it's Afghanistan that went completely through the looking glass and became a surreal exercise in bloody futility. Nation-building is a grim joke because we refuse to destroy adversary states before rebuilding them or wield the powers of empire.
We're also learning that globalism without interventionism is suicidal. The hostile powers we invite into our system are very interested in, and capable of, intervening in OUR country. The West is expected to shoulder the refugee burden of every horror show it doesn't shut down.
It's not easy to say what the ideal approach would be, but it's pretty clear we found the worst combination of light touches and interventions over the years since 9/11. We're on the hook for everything but we get nothing we need and build nothing that lasts.
Somewhere along the way, we forgot that conflict is always a test of will. We were drawn into engagements that seemed tailor-made to exhaust our national will but offered no coherent plan for breaking that of our adversaries.
We decided it was impolite to call out s**tholes for what they are. We convinced ourselves foreign populations bear no responsibility for their awful ruling regimes. We thought we could conjure democracy without creating any of the conditions that allow it to flourish.
From the 90s onward, we got the idea that we could clinically intervene in foreign countries, using precision weapons that would cut out the bad guys like tumors. We lost our stomach for the grueling therapy needed to remake a people and ensure ideological cancer cannot return.
Which is odd, because World War 2 showed us exactly what it takes, and should have left us with no illusions about how bloody and expensive the work can be. Instead, we keep signing up for fights we're afraid to win. We can scarcely even talk about "victory" any more.
That's the heart of the matter, I think: we wanted to personalize warfare, make it a battle against a few individuals who could be dethroned, pop the next few Hitlers with drones or regime change operations to make all-out war unnecessary. It just doesn't work that way.
War just isn't a personal conflict. It's not about tossing the One Ring into a volcano to unmake the one rotten SOB who is preventing fine lands and great people from living up to their potential. Breaking the will of an enemy involves destroying their ideology. It's hard work.
Meanwhile, our adversaries look at America and conclude *our* ideology is incoherent and vulnerable. We tend to shy away from pursuing our interests with anything like the focus and determination they exhibit. We think of "nationalism" as an unspeakable sin!
If you're not ready to take the fight to aggressive enemies and play to win, then you need to play defense and stop fighting on behalf of unreliable, corrupt "partners." Be clear about what you want and what you're prepared to do to get it.
Stop thinking we can defeat enemies by impressing them so much that they forget why they hate us. Start making certain clear demands of everyone who wants to interface with our economy, culture, and knowledge base. Fight when you can win instead of waiting for the game to end.
What we should be demanding of our partners is not full-blown "democracy," a fragile and complex thing that is easily faked or corrupted, but the building blocks of democracy - the conditions that lead inexorably to it. Play for check and checkmate, as our adversaries do.
And if we see a place where those conditions cannot be established, where only the most ghastly simulacrum of democracy is possible, then American boots do not belong on that ground for long. Do what is needed, quickly, and get out. Fighting for illusions is pointless. /end
