Sixty-Six Oh Eight

Over the past eight years, the Bush administration has practiced a simple “attack first, talk later (if at all)” mentality. During the past election season, a great debate was sparked about one of President-elect Obama’s plans to sit down and talk with our enemies “without preconditions.” Sen. McCain seemed to think it was a terrible idea and that to talk to our enemies would be more harmful than it would beneficial. However, as the debate continued, General Patraeus said that sitting down to talk to your enemies is the key to understanding them and to accomplishing your goals in the most efficient way. In a recent CNN interview, South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak said that he would fully support any action that Pres. Obama would take to deal with North Korea. North Korea is one of the countries that Obama has said he would try to negotiate with, as their nuclear program is viewed by many as a huge threat to the world. Whether or not you agree with Pres. Obama’s policies, it is clear that his idea of using diplomacy will improve the U.S.’s standing in the world. South Korea would be most likely to be harmed in a mishandling of a situation with North Korea, and their President has endorsed the idea of using diplomacy to deal with Kim Jong-Il. He believes that Obama will effectively use “soft-power” to not only accomplish our goals, but to do it in a way that will benefit all parties involved and avoid military action. It is clear that this will help other countries to see that we are willing to sacrifice some and help other people to lose the stereotype of the ethnocentric American. This improved world standing will help to promote joining together to do what is best for the world and will help other countries to follow our leadership and promote healthier relations between countries.