Robert Kagan: "The World America Made"
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2012-02-13/robert-kagan-world-america-made
The economic collapse of 2008, two costly wars, and a gridlocked Congress have led many to conclude that America is on the decline. The rise of China to global superpower status has caused more anxiety and prompted some to predict a “Post-American” world. Foreign policy strategist Robert Kagan disagrees. He says America’s decline is a myth unsupported by the economic and political reality: the United States is still the richest country in the world and has played a singular role in the rising tide of liberal democracies. Robert Kagan on “The World America Made.”
Guests
Robert Kagan
senior fellow, Foreign Policy, Brookings Center on the United States and Europe
Related Items
Program Highlights
In his new book, "The World America Made," Kagan rejects the notion that the U.S. is in decline. He warns Americans that allowing large-scale military spending cuts is preemptive super power suicide. Robert Kagan joined Diane to talk about why he thinks America is not in decline.
"We're As Powerful As We've Been Since World War II"
We're constantly seeking renewal, Kagan said, which in his view is one of the most positive characteristics of our nation. He thinks the challenges we're facing as a nation now are overstated. "I believe that if you look at our power, in terms of our military power, in terms of our economic power, our share of the world's growth, and in terms of our political influence, I think that we're as powerful as we've been since World War II."
The Fragility Of The Democratic Process
The "explosion of democracy" we've seen since WWII, Kagan said, is an anomaly in human history. In 1941, there were about a dozen democracies. Today, there are about 115. "It's not just the natural product of human evolution much as we might like to think so. That is based on the fact that the balance of power in the world has favored the democracies, the balance of power which is fundamentally built around the United States and its democratic allies," he said. If we see a weakening of the U.S., though, which includes an autocratic China and Russia, Kagan thinks we will see that balance shift.
The Size Of The Defense Budget
Kagan thinks the Obama administration's proposed cuts to the defense budget could be catastrophic for the U.S. military and have the potential to severely weaken the role we've been performing in the world. We have to be careful and not think the defense budget is the place to solve our
fiscal crisis because the cuts that we make in defense are a drop in the bucket compared to our overall deficit, Kagan said. "It's entitlement spending that drives that," he said. The damage the proposed cuts could do to our military capacity, he believes, would be significant.
Support For The Iraq War: Hindsight
"I make mistakes. But I can only call it the way I see it," Kagan said of his support for the Iraq War. Today, he doesn't think it was a mistake to go in, but he doesn't agree with the way the war was conducted. The Bush administration and Donald Rumsfeld, he said, were looking for a rapid way out. "They were looking to do it on the cheap, and we paid a very high price for that," Kagan said.
You can read the full transcript here.
Comments
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Ralph that same group started repeating unsubstantiated claims about Iran soon after the invasion of Iraq. Reuel Marc Gerecht, Pollack, Cheney, Gaffney, Rice, Feith, Woolsey etc etc were everywhere repeating that Iran has a nuclear weapons program. MSM host did not challenge these false claims. Since then the debunked Iran is trying to "wipe Israel off the map" has been repeated on Diane's show, CNN, MSNBC programs etc etc. Diane has never ever challenged these false claims. Never. They have been setting the stage for a military attack on Iran for almost 10 years now.
Who you going to believe Kagan or Dr. Zbig, Micheal Scheuer etc? I go with Dr. Zbig,Scheuer etc
J Merrett "We should be PROUD of the moderating force for good (on balance) that the US has played in general and the military specifically."
A nation founded on genocide, enslavement, the only nation to drop atomic bombs and burn hundreds of thousands to death, killed how many Vietnamese, how many Iraqi people etc etc. This nation needs to spend some time on our knees for this death and destruction. Then maybe just maybe we could be like the phoenix rising. Anything less is a nation built on a crumbling and rotting infrastructure both physically and morally
Why does the Rehm team provide platforms for those who were so I believe purposely wrong about WMD's in Iraq. Terribly wrong! Horribly wrong! Those responsible for the hundreds of thousands dead, injured and millions displace in Iraq. Those responsible for 4600 dead American soldiers as well as the tens of thousands injured...why would you provide a platform for these individuals to repeat unsubstantiated claims about Iran. This is not fair coverage this is stupid and irresponsible
Who has the numbers regarding the balance of good and bad in modern US and Chinese history? Which one has killed more? Which one has truly helped more people? The fact that we feel we are in a position to "want China to turn out" one way or another would be less laughable if we were not guilty of the the worst kind of aggression we warn China against. I know that they find this both hypocritical and insulting.
I agree. Giving people like Kagen a platform without exploring how his viewpoints promote the agenda of an industry that provides campaign money to his boss gives listeners an incomplete and distorted view. The media treats anyone who writes a book as if these are solely their own beliefs rather than promotion of an agenda bought and paid for by an industry.
"kathleen wrote:
Why does the Rehm team provide platforms for those who were so I believe purposely wrong about WMD's in Iraq. Terribly wrong! Horribly wrong! Those responsible for the hundreds of thousands dead, injured and millions displace in Iraq. Those responsible for 4600 dead American soldiers as well as the tens of thousands injured...why would you provide a platform for these individuals to repeat unsubstantiated claims about Iran. This is not fair coverage this is stupid and irresponsible
February 13, 2012 - 3:21 pm"
I was pretty disappointed with Hour One today, Diane let some of the Panel simple slough off some questions and allowed what must be extremely suspect statistics on Rape and Domestic Violence to go unchallenged.
On the other hand, she did have a Guest who did a credible job of exposing a few of the negative aspects of domestic violence Laws, programs and processes as they currently stand.
But her interview of Kagan was First-Class, at least in the context of the modern NPR/MSM format.
She pressed him pretty hard on some points, seemed to be well-prepped and reminded him of some of his many contradictions.
Not quite as good as Dan Rather, but far, far better than Larry King!!
If she is willing to keep her BS Detector on Full Power, I say bring on the Kagans (not including Elena) and their ilk.
Monte Haun mchaun@hotmail.com
I am pleased by the 90% of comments which disagree with Kagan's American military domination theory. I am teaching a peace class and want to suggest that if we want to create a peaceful world it is not by the road of military domination as Kagan suggests.
We spend $2300 per person per year on the military and spend 13 cents per person for the US Institute of peace. This imbalance needs to change. We need a Department of Peace much more than we need to worship military power. We borrow much money from the Chinese who are not threatening to invade us. They are interested in selling us products and improving their own standard of living. We are losing the economic competition with them. They have taken over the solar PV market, they spent 181 billion $ on high speed trains last year while President Obama has trouble proposing 1 billion for the US. Our solar industry is struggling because our government and society is asleep. Germany installed more PV in one month than the US in a year.
Instead the military budget wants to increase production of nuclear warheads, while preaching abstinence to the rest of the world. We could save $90 billion a year by withdrawing our troops from Europe. We could cut the military budget in half and still have the most powerful military in the world. Let's become an example to the world in peaceful conflict resolution.
Kathleen, That's a good question. Why did the New York Times turn it's front page over to Judith Miller? Why is the Council on Foreign Relations and the rest of the foreign policy establishment packed with advocates of military action. Why didn't they challenge Bush's pre-emptive war policy? Why does Neil Conan kiss up to the purveyors of the conventional wisdom on foreign policy? Michiko Katutani's review in this morning's NYT does a pretty good job of demolishing Kagan's unrepentant militaristic neoconmania. Kagan's apparent influence on Obama is frightening.
Mchaun I agree to a degree. Diane did press Kagan harder than I have heard her challenge other Iraq WMD promoters. Over the last 8 years promoting a military strike on Iran And while I know her information load must be amazing. Her team could do far more research and provide her with specific facts about how many questioned the validity of the intelligence before the invasion and how those who created, cherry picked and then dessiminated that false intelligence (which Kagan is one of) have not been held accountable. Not at all. Why is it that we have yet to witness anyone held accountable from the Office of Special Plans that LT Col Karen Kwiatowski wrote about in her article "the New Pentagon Papers?"
The new Pentagon papers
A high-ranking military officer reveals how Defense Department extremists suppressed information and twisted the truth to drive the country to war.
http://www.salon.com/2004/03/10/osp_moveon/
Have you ever heard retired Lt.Col Kwiatowski on her program to discuss how the false intelligence was created, how anyone standing in the way was taken out and how it was stovepiped into the White House and how not one person has been held accountable?
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The Nations Jason Vest wrote about this corrupt group back in August of 2002. This was one of the first reports that really put me on alert as well as former Weapons inspector Scott Ritters warnings about the validity of the intelligence
here is Jason's article
http://www.thenation.com/article/men-jinsa-and-csp?page=0,1
The Men From JINSA and CSP
Jason Vest
August 15, 2002
"Founded in 1976 by neoconservatives concerned that the United States might not be able to provide Israel with adequate military supplies in the event of another Arab-Israeli war, over the past twenty-five years JINSA has gone from a loose-knit proto-group to a $1.4-million-a-year operation with a formidable array of Washington power players on its rolls. Until the beginning of the current Bush Administration, JINSA's board of advisers included such heavy hitters as Dick Cheney, John Bolton (now Under Secretary of State for Arms Control) and Douglas Feith, the third-highest-ranking executive in the Pentagon. Both Perle and former Director of Central Intelligence James Woolsey, two of the loudest voices in the attack-Iraq chorus, are still on the board, as are such Reagan-era relics as Jeane Kirkpatrick, Eugene Rostow and Ledeen--Oliver North's Iran/contra liaison with the Israelis."
Now here is the deal. Instead of American citizens witnessing these dangerous and murderous liars held accountable. They have been allowed to promote a military strike on Iran and they are provided opportunities to sell these unsubstantiated claims about Iran.
Kagan said that there is no doubt that Iran is working on a nuclear weapons plan. Well yes there are doubts. And Diane did not question him on this. She allowed him to repeat this with no challenges. She rolled over. Her team could provide her with how many experts have questioned the latest IAEA report etc and what they have questioned about that report
robert Kelly
http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&I...
I know that our President and many of our Reps, host of MSM show etc all say "move on, next chapter, turn the page" but hundreds of thousands of people have died, been injured and displaced as a direct result of that I believe purposeful false intelligence. Piles of dead that Americans and the MSM do not even count. We are not talking about lies about blowjobs...we are talking about a very serious and costly both in blood and treasure intelligence snowjob.
Kagan is one of those criminals. Why provide him with another platform to promote another military confrontation. He belongs behind bars with the rest of those who lied this nation into Iraq
Thanks for your follow-up, kathleen. You help keep us informed better than DRShow has. Looking at the austerity debacle in Greece we can see what's coming if we consent to financing another oil adventure for our Oligarchs.
Ralph Deeds: Big media need not "turn it's front page over" to Neocons because in truth the media belongs to the Oligarchs for whose interests the Neocons are advocating. What it does do is mix in some moderate rhetoric as a substitute for actual debate and discussion. And that is why kathleen can observe that Diane's objections to Kagan and others like him are mild and purely a rhetorical device. Otherwise the interview would have consisted only of complements and amnesia in service to Kagan's publisher. Diane has this show because of her covert intelligence career. It was amazing in the middle years how she outmaneuvered her handlers. But now as we approach a totalitarian plutocracy her deviations consist mainly of vague apologies. The show is entertaining because this woman is smart: She is a genius of apology.
Maybe she will break out one more time before they retire her. Many times I think she distrusts her director's prompts and follows her instincts because they have undermined her in the past.
I Kagan is really afraid of Chinese military power he should be informing people of the United States how their Wal-Mart purchases pay for the Chinese military. He should try to stop GE from selling gas turbines to the Chinese Navy for use in their missile destroyers. He should be complaining how Westinghouse is going to sell the design for breeder reactors that will allow the Chinese to build a nuclear arsenal on par with the United States and Russia. If Kagan thinks that a nation as economically influential as China is going to not further their aspirations with the armed forces in at least the same proportion that the US does he's deluding himself and falls far short of the title of analyst or learned and makes no convincing arguments to me.