Jeffrey Sachs on Foreign Policy

Jeffrey Sachs, renowned economist, has done something unimaginable. He has written a book on US foreign policy that is knowledgeable as well as candid and honest. For an academic of his stature to produce such an open and factual critique of US policy is indeed a courageous undertaking.
For those of us with a keen interest in foreign affairs Professor Sachs new book, Toward a New Foreign Policy / Beyond American Exceptionalism, is a most welcome gem. He acknowledges what a small minority of concerned citizens and a growing chorus of foreign people and pundits have known for quite some time. US foreign policy is aggressive, militaristic and very frequently crosses the line to crimes of war.
He makes a crucial argument to distinguish between wars of necessity and wars of choice. Most of the conflicts the US has been engaged in since WWII have been wars of choice. They were not essential to national security. Rather they were choices made with the intent to influence the global geopolitical status quo. The US tends to choose conflict over diplomacy and negotiation. He demonstrates such analyses through the Vietnam conflict and through recent conflicts in the Middle East.
Such views are rarely, if ever, heard through the media. And equally these views are rarely expressed by prominent professors, with the exception of Chomsky of course. So, Professor Sachs has indeed shown commendable courage. One can only hope that his message will be widely read and appreciated. Hopefully he will not be shunned and relegated to ‘romantic’ status to become a marginal voice like the rest of us discontents.
My recommendation is simple. Please read this book. Think through what Sachs is saying. Don’t reject his analysis because it is contrary to usual story lines. Everything he says is well documented and factual. There is nothing exceptional about the US as a nation. It has conducted policy from the very beginning as an aggressor, from the genocide of Indian tribes to Manifest Destiny, to today’s imperial quest.
I have only minor criticisms of the book. The first is what I have already expressed, that readers will reject an unfamiliar opinion as wrong and unpatriotic. My second issue is that, while Sachs presents the historical facts over the decades and does not shy from taking sequential Presidents to task, he is overly kind to JFK. In this favoritism he is, I think, mistaken. Finally, as an economist Sachs reflects upon the link between economic and foreign policies. To be sure US economic policy is equally flawed. However, I fear that Sachs’ views on economic policy are too evidently liberal. So, here again I fear his message on foreign policy may be dismissed by virtue of his partisan sounding views on the economy.
In summary this book is a must read and Sachs’ analysis on foreign policy is a must consider and reflect.