Book Talk:  Why Can’t America Retrench?  

Every winning American presidential candidate since 2008 has campaigned to one degree or another against foreign military expeditions in favor of doing more “nation-building at home.”  Barack Obama opposed the Iraq War.  Donald Trump agreed, and he added the pledge to end the war in Afghanistan.  Joe Biden co-opted much of Trump’s campaign rhetoric, pledging to end “forever wars” and provide a “foreign policy for the middle class.”  But once in office, each of these presidencies faced formidable obstacles to achieving these goals.  What explains this pattern? 

 

November 2024

12
12:00 PM ET
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Join us for a timely and important discussion with:

Peter Harris

Peter Harris is a non-resident fellow at Defense Priorities and an associate professor of political science at Colorado State University. Harris’ teaching and research focuses on international security and U.S. foreign policy. He received his PhD in Government from the University of Texas at Austin.

George Beebe

George Beebe is director of grand strategy at the Quincy Institute. He spent more than two decades in government as an intelligence analyst, diplomat, and policy advisor, including as director of the CIA’s Russia analysis, director of the CIA’s Open Source Center, and as a staff advisor on Russia matters to Vice President Cheney. 

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