This week at FPIF, we debut our new strategic focus on the global U.S. military footprint – and how to shrink it.

There hasn’t been a war in Northeast Asia for over 50 years. The countries in the region are not only making headway in talks with North Korea over its nuclear weapons program, they’re also talking about creating a permanent peace structure in the region. Compared to the Middle East or much of Africa, it’s a pretty quiet corner of the world

George W. Bush’s numbers have sunk so low that he’s decided to embrace not just a single sick patient or even a hospital full of them. This week, the president will be hugging an entire continent.

Imagine if the world leaders, pushed by an aroused populace, came together to agree to put aside their differences and focus on addressing climate change. It’s a difficult challenge. It’s expensive. It requires considerable human resources. And the answer is a no-brainer.

The United States acts as if it owns the world. This might seem counter-intuitive. After all, more and more foreign entities are lapping up bargain properties in our “homeland.” And aside from U.S. military bases — a not inconsiderable amount of territory — the United States is not land-grabbing the way imperial Rome or London did. But since when was ownership all about possessing the deed to the property? Bullies can own the neighborhood, even if they’re only renting a room in one of the houses. It has a lot to do with attitude. And the Bush administration has attitude up the wazoo.

Wouldn’t it be nice if the U.S. government took a cue from the Europeans or even from our own history to come up with a more visionary stimulus package?

The selective ignorance of the Bush administration–and its preference that the media and the public follow suit–has brought us to our current impasse.

Are we ready for the first missionary president? While the media debates endlessly whether America can overcome racism and sexism and finally elect an African-American commander-in-chief or a female to the White House, there’s been very little consideration of what it might mean to have a former missionary in the Oval Office. Like many Mormons, Mitt Romney did a two-year stint abroad trying to convert people to his religion. What impact would this perspective have on his foreign policy?

At Foreign Policy In Focus, we specialize in providing analysis of U.S. foreign policy and its alternatives. But we also want to tell you stories.