Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
But now Bush is about to become president and he shows signs of understanding that his presidency cannot mostly be about continuing to let the good times roll. Nowhere is the need for change, supported by steely determination, greater than in American foreign and defense policy. The need for a radical change of course is clear on four issues: the defense budget, missile defense, China, and Iraq.
Clinton's last-minute grandstanding has caused real damage. Even as the American-brokered negotiations crumbled and violence erupted earlier this year, Clinton had his people lobbying the Nobel committee for his peace prize. In the end, it was all about Bill Clinton.
As President Clinton exits the White House, Harold Koh, Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, evaluates the administration's strategy for and record of advancing democracy around the world.
Unless taken to an extreme, the particulars of a national candidate’s defense policy positions are not likely to swing voters one way or the other.
Presentation at the College of William and Mary by Carnegie Senior Associate Joseph Cirincione
People who think Bill Clinton will go down in history as a poor foreign policy president are wrong. In the tradition of Eisenhower and George H. W. Bush, he has left ticking time bombs all over the place, any or all of which are likely to go off within the next four years. This will do wonders for his own reputation and provide an escape from chumphood.