Bush administration Archives - Foreign Policy In Focus

The Unanticipated Consequences of Policy Blindness: Why Even Belarus Matters

by Robert M. Cutler | Jan 1, 2001

A dangerous blind spot in the incoming administration’s view of Russian affairs is its inadequate understanding of the significance of the newly independent states (NIS). The unanticipated consequences of such policy blindness are exemplified by developments in the 1990s in Belarus, formerly called Byelorussia—a country sandwiched between Russia and Poland—sharing a border with Ukraine to the south and with Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest.

Latin American Policy and the Bush Administration

by Michael Shifter | Jan 1, 2001

George W. Bush’s decision to make his first overseas trip to Mexico, in mid-February, has generated a great deal of speculation about what this could possibly mean for changes in U.S. policy toward Latin America over the next four years. It is clear that Mexico is vastly more familiar and comfortable for Bush than any other foreign country. In light of the questions raised about the former Texas governor’s foreign policy experience and competence during the campaign, it is hardly surprising that he would look first to the country immediately south of the Rio Grande to show he is up to the job.

Bush Administration Should Reevaluate Failed Clinton Policies in Middle East

by Stephen Zunes | Jan 1, 2001

During the past two decades, the American military presence in the Middle East has dramatically increased, yet American interests—as well as individual Americans—are more at risk than ever. The new administration must look critically at how we define security. We cannot advance our real interests in this vital region through bombing raids, punitive sanctions targeted at innocent civilians, the arming of dictatorial regimes, the denial of the right of self-determination, and the undermining of basic principles of international law. The new Bush administration, however, appears to be unwilling to seriously reevaluate the failed policies of the Clinton administration.

Military Spending: Threats and Priorities

by Robert L. Borosage | Jan 1, 2001

The Bush administration has made many of its major priorities clear through the selection of the president’s foreign policy advisers.

Winning One for the Gipper: Donald Rumsfeld and the Return of the Star Wars Lobby

by William D. Hartung | Jan 1, 2001

The first six weeks of the George W. Bush era, starting with the flurry of appointments he made during December, through the confirmation hearings of his key cabinet members earlier this month, and on into his first full week in office, has had a very “retro” feel about it. We have a vice president who was Gerald Ford’s chief of staff, and we have a secretary of defense who got his start in the Nixon administration in 1969 before he went on to become Ford’s chief of staff and then Ford’s secretary of defense.

Bush and the Trade Agenda

by John Cavanagh | Jan 1, 2001

Bush will have no opportunity to be a uniter on trade policy. The political landscape is simply too divided, and the same divisions that virtually paralyzed the Clinton administration on trade policy threaten to do the same with Bush. Rather, Bush’s choice will be whether to be a clever divider or a clumsy divider.

The Military Budget Under Bush: Early Warning Signs

by Richard Kaufman, Foreign Policy In Focus | Jan 1, 2001

The U.S. emerged from the cold war as the only military and economic superpower and maintained that position throughout the 1990s while substantially reducing military spending and force levels. The peace dividend produced by the spending reductions contributed significantly to America’s sustained economic expansion by easing pressures on the federal budget, making possible lower interest rates, and fueling greater investment. Although it is arguable whether the best use was made of the resources that were freed, it is unquestionable that military cuts were a major cause of the record long recovery.

U.S. Policy Must Be Sensitive to Ukraine’s Balancing Act

by Robert M. Cutler | Jan 1, 2001

Ukraine’s positioning makes it a natural bridge between East and West. A wise U.S. foreign policy would be one that is sensitive to Ukraine’s function as a bridge between Russia and the Western military alliance.

Military Contractors Spent Freely To Influence 2000 Election, Future Policy

by Lauren Budnick, Miriam Pemberton | Jan 1, 2001

U.S. defense contractors were full participants in the last election cycle. Their contributions, totaling $13.5 million, were liberally distributed among both presidential campaigns, major party coffers, and House and Senate races, heavily emphasizing the members of both houses’ Armed Services Committees. This corporate campaign financing will help ensure that weapons industry interests will be well served in the coming year’s budget process.

The Bush Administration and Human Rights

by Neil Hicks | Jan 1, 2001

Human rights has been a central rhetorical foreign policy concern of successive U.S. presidents since the Carter administration. For all that, the international community remains deeply ambivalent about the American government’s self-appointed role as the world’s largest human rights organization. Many see self-interest behind U.S. claims to be upholding high moral principles, and they also see hypocrisy in the U.S. government’s reluctance to be bound by the same instruments it is so ready to apply to others.