If I were you, I would strongly consider going to this event:
The American Conservative presents “What Impact Will the 2016 Campaign Have on U.S. Foreign Policy?” — a discussion with some of the magazine’s most prominent contributors.
You won’t want to miss this opportunity to hear from:
- Daniel Larison, senior editor, The American Conservative
- Scott McConnell, founding editor, The American Conservative
- Robert Merry, contributing editor, The National Interest
- Benjamin Schwarz, national editor, The American Conservative
A reception will follow with other TAC editors, board members, and supporters.
Space is limited, so please RSVP to guarantee your seat by clicking “Get Tickets” above.
(Any additional questions may be directed to [email protected], subject line “Dallas event.”)
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WHEN
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Wednesday, April 27, 2016 from 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM (CDT) –
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WHERE
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D Magazine – 750 North St. Paul Street Suite 2100, Dallas, TX 75201
Click here to reserve your spot. I trust that I don’t have to introduce you to Larison, McConnell, and Schwartz. Robert Merry is a realist foreign policy commenter whose extraordinary book Sands Of Empire is one of the best things I’ve ever read about US foreign policy, post-Iraq. Here’s a link to an archive of his most recent articles for the National Interest. Check out this lengthy, fascinating, even iconoclastic take on Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, from last December. Excerpt:
The result of all this has been the widespread demonization of Vladimir Putin throughout America, expressed in harsh, dismissive language by journalists, academics and politicians of all stripes and both parties. He’s a killer, they say, a tyrant, a gangster.
And then along comes Donald Trump, a brash, undisciplined developer with no political background or foreign policy sophistication. But somehow he sees what the vast majority of establishment denizens can’t seem to perceive. He says, essentially: There’s something wrong here. Putin seems to be doing what any effective leader would do in the same circumstances. He could easily take Ukraine’s eastern regions militarily and nobody could stop him, but he hasn’t. His proposals for a negotiated settlement have been summarily rejected by the West. He’s true to his allies in the Middle East, such as Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, in sharp contrast to President Obama, who threw over Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak for no particular reason. He could become a significant geopolitical counterweight to a rising China, which is emerging as a major U.S. adversary. So, I think I could get along with the guy, and I certainly think it’s worth a try.
It’s unfortunate that Trump doesn’t know how to press his case with finesse. But his instincts merit some respect, as does his fortitude in taking on a foreign policy outlook that is so thoroughly embedded in elite thinking throughout the country. But then, one reason Trump seems to beguile so many Americans, as reflected in the polls, has been his willingness to slam the elites that have left the nation mired in such a civic mess.
Of course the West must always fortify itself against any possible encroachment by the Russian bear, as it has had to do for centuries. But that doesn’t mean America and Europe need to pursue their own policies of encroachment or employ the kind of bellicose diplomatic language that destroys prospects for finding common ground on matters of mutual interest. The country is on the wrong course on this powerful diplomatic matter. Nobody in politics seems to see it or care about it—except Donald Trump. Kudos to him.
So: Merry, Larison, McConnell, and Schwarz. That’s going to be a fantastically interesting evening.
If I were going to be there, I’d say we ought to all retire after it to the Old Monk, get sloshy on great beer, and try to talk Larison into teepeeing the nearby Bush Institute. But see, that’s why they like me idling on the bayou, a threat to no one’s dignity but my own. Such as it is.