¶ … American Foreign Policy Since September 11, 2001

Over its history, American foreign policy has proven remarkably flexible. Indeed, critics have said it has been too flexible -- "too naive, too calculating, too openhanded, too violent, too isolationist, too unilateral, too multilateral, too moralistic, too immoral" (Mead, 2002). All of these criticisms have been true of U.S. foreign policy at certain points, but its flexibility has made it possible for the nation to grow and thrive in a swiftly changing world. It is often said that the events of September 11, 2001 changed the world. The scale and source of the terrorist attacks on U.S. soil were certainly different from those experienced by any other nation before that time. However, assertions that 9/11 changed U.S. foreign policy permanently are, I believe, based on a shortsighted view of national orientations towards guerilla warfare, preventive attacks, and alliance-building. Below, I will discuss the historical context of the War on Terror that proceeded from the events of 9/11, and previous historical moments from which U.S. policymakers drew wisdom in forging foreign policy that fit America in the first years of the 21st century.

9/11: Historical Context

Prior to 9/11, U.S. foreign policy on "preemptive strike" warfare extended only to nations that provided a clear and present danger to U.S. interests at home or abroad. For example, U.S. involvement...

This war provides some historical context and precedent for U.S. involvement in what is essentially an insurgent struggle. The difference between Vietnam and U.S. involvement in Afghanistan is that the insurgency concerned is not struggling for nationhood, but for ideological dominance above and beyond nationhood (Barber, 1992). However, parallels between Cold War communism and terror-era Islamic extremism remain salient for students of foreign policy.
Previous terrorist attacks on American soil are less relevant to policy changes since 9/11 than previous American involvement in nontraditional warfare, or unilateral international action. This is because most previous terrorism on American soil has originated from U.S. citizens themselves -- e.g. The Oklahoma City bombing. Prior attacks by Islamic extremists on the World Trade Center in 1993 did not significantly alter U.S. policy towards foreign nations, but mainly altered internal security measures and stepped up FBI surveillance of Islamic extremist groups. The only other comparable event in recent history is the 1975 bombing of the Fraunces Tavern carried out by a Puerto Rican nationalist group, which also prompted closer FBI surveillance…