Amitai Etzioni Notes

Who Are Moderate Muslims?

Joshua Muravchik and Charles P. Szrom address this vital question directly in their article in the February issue of Commentary. The importance of this question is well summarized in a quote they provide from Daniel Pipes: “radical Islam is the problem and moderate Islam the solution.” That is, it is wrong to treat all the followers of the Prophet as if they were terrorists or their supporters (the way Samuel Huntington and Sir Bernard Lewis do); it is equally mistaken to view Islam as a religion of peace, which is sometimes “hijacked” by terrorist to justify their act (as President Bush pronounced). It is an empirical fact of considerable ethical and political import that Muslims—like followers of all other major belief systems, religious and secular—differ greatly from one another. Some could make good allies; some, sadly, are unavoidable enemies. The key question is: who is who?

Hillary: The Next Secretary of State

Rahm Emanuel, where are you when we need you? It is time for the elders of the Democratic Party, especially those not committed to either Clinton or Obama, to get off their duff (while staying on the fence) to figure out the best way to end the intra-Democratic contest. Even if Obama continues to garner a majority of the delegates, Clinton will be left with a substantial number of delegates committed to her. Such situations tend to lead to prolonged and bitter conflicts. As the Republicans are unifying around their candidate, it is time to float ideas to end the Democratic contest.

Change: A New Foreign Policy

Even if you listen to all the presidential debates, you will learn precious little about the kind of foreign policy the next president plans to follow. “Change” is on all lips. The fact that the foreign policies the Bush Administration followed are wrong-headed is commonly understood, even by many Republicans. However, what is going to replace these policies is barely discussed. We hear plenty about Iraq, some about Iran, a bit about restoring our reputation overseas and the merit of talking to our adversaries, but little about what we are gong to tell them.

Consult an Ex-Terrorist

Export Security, Not Democracy
by Jonathan Rauch
Published in the National Journal 

"Six years after September 11," wrote Krauthammer, "there is still no remotely plausible alternative to the Bush Doctrine for ultimately changing the culture from which jihadism arises."

If that ever was true, it ceased to be as of last summer. That was when Amitai Etzioni published an important book called Security First: For a Muscular, Moral Foreign Policy. A professor of international relations at George Washington University, Etzioni argues that the United States should export security, not democracy.

If you want to discuss foreign policy in the age of terrorism, try consulting an ex-terrorist. As a teenager in the 1940s, Etzioni was a fighter in the Palmach, a Jewish insurgent group that tried to bomb the British out of what was then Palestine. The group aimed at infrastructure, not people, but Etzioni says the experience gave him a lifelong appreciation of the awfulness of war and the centrality of security.