Perry, the GOP, and Cowboy Diplomacy
4th September 2011
It has been interesting to watch the word cowboy become a term of abuse, politically, over the last decade. Critics often described Bush’s foreign policy approach, in particular, as reckless, unthinking or bombastic – a case of “cowboy diplomacy.” My guess is that the vast majority of people employing this term have never met an actual cowboy. Real North American cowboys are often very deliberate and measured when they speak, but they do tend to have limited patience for being pushed around – a combination of qualities as useful in foreign policy as in life.
The chief thing to remember about cowboys is, that you don’t want to fuck with ’em. And ‘Don’t Mess With Texas’ is trademarked by the state. I wouldn’t mind having Gary Cooper as Secretary of State, with Jimmy Stewart as President and John Wayne as Secretary of Defense. I think that lineup might just get the job done.
To be sure, President Obama is no “cowboy.” He instinctively scolds and shifts blame, splits every difference, appears peevish when criticized, views himself as a kind of international community organizer, and places tremendous faith in the power of endless talk – especially his own. Elite transatlantic liberal opinion continues to view this overall approach, self-referentially, as the height of sophistication, regardless of its practical failures.
Perhaps we might call this approach Kindergarten Diplomacy.
Notice that Obama’s one undisputed international success, the killing of Osama Bin Laden, was achieved through an uncharacteristic reliance on aggressive interrogations and unilateral military action without permission from anybody. If a Republican president had engaged in this sort of act, no doubt we would have heard much more hand-wringing about the dangers of a rootin’-tootin’ approach to counter-terrorism. But then that’s cowboy diplomacy for you.
Maybe it’s time to tell Barry that recess is over.
September 4th, 2011 at 11:43
“Notice that Obama’s one undisputed international success, the killing of Osama Bin Laden, was achieved through an uncharacteristic reliance on aggressive interrogations…” Undemonstrated. Asserted as proven fact when in fact the debate continues.
“If a Republican president had engaged in this sort of act, no doubt we would have heard much more hand-wringing about the dangers of a rootin’-tootin’ approach to counter-terrorism.” Uh, what was the invasion of Iraq, except a Republican president engaging in “Cowboy Diplomacy”?
The fact is that the world is a much more complex place–and justice a much more complex concept–than can be addressed by plugging the bad guy with a six-shooter at high noon.
September 4th, 2011 at 21:21
No, Dennis, the world is not all that complex. There are basic struggles between good and evil. There are actions that benefit your country and those that do not. The cowboy mentality is to look at the action that needs to be taken and then do it – and accept the consequences. That’s what great leaders have done throughout history.
When you agonize over what every piss-ant dictator thinks of you, when you over-think the possible consequences to a point that nothing gets done, when you think all a problem really needs is a good excuse or a handy scapegoat, then you have the stinking cesspool that is the Obama Administration.
September 5th, 2011 at 16:40
The invasion of Iraq is the proof of his statement. In fact, after Bush’s invasion of Iraq there WAS “much more hand-wringing about the dangers of a rootin’-tootin’ approach to counter-terrorism.”
September 5th, 2011 at 19:18
Well, Rick, I suppose to the simple-minded, all problems–and therefore all solutions–are simple…