Gary Johnson: “We Must Rule the World With Diplomacy and Free Trade”

Johnson Slams Current US Foreign Policy

By: Elias J. Atienza

Libertarian presidential nominee Gary Johnson recently gave a speech on foreign policy at the University of Chicago Institute for Politics. This comes after weeks of misleading headlines accusing the nominee of not knowing any foreign leaders nor knowing who the leader of North Korea is.

In his speech, Gary Johnson decried American bases across the world, along with comparing the United States war in Afghanistan with the Soviet Union’s.

We’ve been on every side of the conflicts in Afghanistan that have defied resolution for generations,” Johnson said. “You all are too young to remember, but there was a time when we were fighting on the same side as Osama Bin Laden against the Soviets — who learned the hard way the futility of engaging in Afghanistan’s tribal wars and politics.”

Johnson also slammed the Iraq War and the Libyan War, wars he said that had “good intentions” but no clear exit plan or strategy.

“I’m a chess player. Making a move without looking ahead to your opponent’s moves or even what your own next move might be usually doesn’t turn out well in the end,” Johnson said. “Our foreign policy, or lack of it, over the past 15 years, has been a series of erratic chess moves, and the match isn’t going well.”

He also added, that the White House needed a chess player in the White House.

Perhaps the overarching theme of Johnson’s speech was that the United States foreign policy has not served U.S interests.

The wars in the Middle East has led to thousands of American deaths and trillions of dollars used, with ISIS controlling much of northern Iraq and the Taliban are resurging.

Johnson spoke about three principles. The first principle is U.S foreign policy must serve U.S interests. The second principle is that the U.S’s allies must begin to pull their own weight. And the third is that any military engagement of the United States must have a clear goal and authorization from Congress.

In addition, Johnson echoed the Jeffersonian foreign policy of trade and diplomacy over war.

“I often say we must “rule the world with diplomacy and free trade”. That isn’t just a slogan. What is missing from our foreign policy is the idea that we MUST operate from  a position of economic and, therefore, diplomatic strength. Right now, we are wringing our hands because Russia and China are imposing their wills across the globe, and we appear powerless to influence their decisions or ambitions.

That would not be the case if those nations — and others — had no choice but to be concerned about the economic and diplomatic ramifications of their actions. Conversely, our strongest and most valuable alliances are not with nations who are dependent upon our military, but rather with those nations who are dependent upon our goods, services, markets and trade.”

Johnson ended his speech with remarks on ISIS.

We may never know if and when we have won a “War on Terror”. It simply isn’t that kind of threat, and we need to deal with that reality,” Johnson said. “And we certainly won’t win that war with a foreign policy that continues to contribute to chaos and vacuums of power across the globe.”