America and the World: Conversations on the Future of American Foreign Policy

In a world threatened by political and religious conflicts, warning nations, nuclear threats, economic scarcities, human right violations and terrorist bombings, we need a roadmap to plot our foreign policies. This book is such a roadmap; it plots many viable courses down some pretty threatening roads. David Ignatius has paired two experienced All-Star foreign policy advisors, Zbigniew Brzezinski and Brent Scowcroft, to discuss America's future and the decisions that will confront us. David's question and answer format is always interesting with in-depth discussion on all topics. David, Brent and Zbig do not always agree, and they have different political affiliations, which makes the reading much more interesting. I am accustomed to a faster read, but many times I paused just to let the discussion sink-in. I needed to ponder the ramifications. As a consequence, this book really challenged my belief system. And I often referred to my world globe. (Who was it that said, wars are Gods way of teaching Americans geography?) The depth and breath of topics covered is extraordinary and the countries discussed are those you hear about nightly on CNN: Iraq and Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan, and India, China, India, Japan and the European Union, Russia and the former soviet block spin-offs. But, you do not hear this depth of reporting and insights on CNN; this is what the joint chiefs probably talk about for hours in the White House. Terrorism was discussed: The discussions covered our new global reality. Today, outdated cold war thinking and solutions obscure new global realities such as fighting terrorism. NATO was a solution to the cold war, how relevant is NATO now? How can we better protect against terrorism today, who are our partners, what assets do we use? The internet is a great asset and a hindrance as it helps terrorists communicate and spread their fear of death ideology around the globe. Zbig stated that the U.S. is, "too frightened in this age of terrorism, too hunkered down behind physical and intellectual walls." Anti terrorism is, after all, identifying your enemies and dealing with them appropriately. The poster child of terrorists is Al-Qaeda so we go after them in Afghanistan. Combating terrorism is about intelligence gathering. I would have liked to read commentary about the electronic intelligence gathering systems used by the TSA, NSA and CIA. I guess that's another book. Afghanistan was discussed: Post 9-11, NATO convened and voted for Article V, "condemning terrorism and calling on (but did not fully commit) member states to assist another member under attack." The U.S. did not seek further commitments from our allies, but mobilized into Afghanistan and militarily freed Afghan cities from the Taliban and Al Qaeda, all who retreated into Pakistan. What might have happened had we sought further solidarity with our allies in NATO? Might the U.N. become involved and helped politically? We will never know. Later we assisted A

Refreshing in its candor and broad in scope, Zbigniew Brzezinski and Brent Scowcroft have put forth sound ideas about how we got to where we are, globally, and where we stand now. Added to that, they have made recommendations for the incoming president. These two men, one Democrat and one Republican, are men of stature and experience and both have been successful negotiators, so when they speak, people listen. It would have been beneficial had the Bush administration heeded their advice in many areas. Washington Post associate editor, David Ignatius, "chairs" the discussion, in that he set up a series of interviews with the two and plays the role of moderator. He's good at it, too, gently prodding them with his own thoughts. That Brzezinski and Scowcroft agree on most of the larger issues comes as little surprise. It hearkens back to the day when foreign policy had a bipartisan component...something that has all but disappeared. The book covers such topics as Iraq, Israel and Pakistan, ("two unsolved problems") China, (and Asia) Russia and Europe. They comment on the changing world situation and if there is one person who is largely absent from their discussions, it is President Bush. Brzezinski is more open in his disdain for the current president and one gets the feeling that Scowcroft's impressions of Bush are similar but just under the surface. They do disagree to an extent about the timetable of withdrawal from Iraq and the European Union and NATO, with regard to Russia. Each chapter is riveting and no words are wasted. Brzezinski and Scowcroft are clearly two who have thought long and hard about America and have some disheartening feelings about America's loss of respect around the world. But they are optimistic about American global leadership in general and that it's necessary for us to regain our footing when the new president assumes office. "America and the World" is a tour de force and I highly recommend it for the wealth of experience that Zbigniew Brzezinski and Brent Scowcroft have given in service to our country, which is shared with readers here.

If you had suppositions about how you thought the world was, this book brings to light that we are in an emerging age of the politicization of the world. The ushering out of the old Cold War mentality is now being replaced by a new awareness of self beyond borders and a higher conversation of how to achieve balance in the world. It is a stand that democracy cannot survive if it is militarily forced upon people, but instead, with alliances, can be allowed to take seed and to flourish. And that the United States is still capable of creating balance in the world, instead of the division caused by the mis-step of the War in Iraq. And it is written to the democratic and republican nominees for President of the United States. Well worth your time, Senator McCain and Senator Obama.

I had to make myself put this book down every so often as I wanted to read it all in one sitting. So far, I haven't finished the book yet but wanted to comment on it anyway. This is a non-partisan book containing much wisdom. The authors are so knowledgeable and so wise about about how America can be a positive influence on world affairs (and how we have failed at times in the past). They both are highly critical of the attitude that America can push people around and go to war with anyone that we think is a threat. They offer so much hope for our country and the world if we are led by people who truly understand the best way to go about our foreign poilicy. But to do that, we will need leaders who are willing to take the time to read and listen and be willing to explore a new way of being part of the world. If most Americans would take the time to read and think about the important ideas in this book, we would have a so much better informed electorate when choosing those who will get our vote.