'..the United States would abandon its futile attempt to spread liberal democracy throughout the world. Instead, America would concentrate on selected areas deemed to be vital national interests. “Offshore balancers believe that only a few areas of the globe are of vital importance to U.S. security or prosperity and thus worth sending Americans to fight and die for. The first vital region is the Western hemisphere itself..''Despite the manifest failure of the liberal hegemony program, its advocates have retained their influence. They are rarely called to account for their mistakes. Walt writes with justifiable bitterness about one group among these advocates, the neoconservatives. “When it comes to U.S. foreign policy, the unchallenged world record for ‘second chances’ and ‘failing upward’ are America’s neoconservatives. Beginning in the mid-1980s, this influential network of hard-line pundits, journalists, think tank analysts, and government officials developed, purveyed and promoted an expansive vision of American power as a positive force in world affairs. They conceived and sold the idea of invading Iraq and toppling Saddam Hussein and insisted that this bold move would enable the United States to transform much of the Middle East into a sea of pro-American democracies. ... None of their rosy visions have come to pass, and if holding people to account were a guiding principle inside the foreign policy community, these individuals would now be marginal figures.” They in fact remain influential, and Elliot Abrams, one of the neoconservatives Walt discusses, has recently been appointed United States Special Representative to Venezuela.
..
Walt’s case against liberal hegemony is convincing, but what does he propose to put in its place? True to his structural realism, he calls for “offshore balancing.” Under this policy, the United States would abandon its futile attempt to spread liberal democracy throughout the world. Instead, America would concentrate on selected areas deemed to be vital national interests. “Offshore balancers believe that only a few areas of the globe are of vital importance to U.S. security or prosperity and thus worth sending Americans to fight and die for. The first vital region is the Western hemisphere itself, where America’s dominant position ensures that no neighbor can pose a serious threat to the U.S. homeland. ... But unlike isolationists, offshore balancers believe that three distant regions also matter to the United states: Europe, Northeast Asia, and the Persian Gulf.”
In these regions, the aim of the United States would be to prevent the emergence of a “local hegemon.” If one seemed on the horizon, America should encourage states in the region to “balance against” the rising power. America would remain “offshore” as long as possible, although military intervention would by no means be excluded if the regional states failed in their efforts to balance.'
- David Gordon,
The Failure of Global Liberal Hegemony, August 5, 2019
Context'America must lead, but mainly by example .. Most importantly, invest the savings to build a secure, dynamic, and prosperous America that others want to emulate.''..Cutting the Defense Budget and Reconfiguring the U.S. Military.'(Peace) '..weapons development .. a peaceful or nonweapons application..'