"U.S. engagements in the world over the past 20 years reveal a grim record of failed ventures. Most have been caused by unrealistic goals, blinkered views of the field of action, overweening pride, an ignorance of foreign places and their history, and an unseemly readiness to take complacent comfort in fantasy worlds that exist only in its own imagination. In short, American foreign policy has been misguided – badly and consistently misguided. The inevitable frustrations and failures owe equally to sheer incompetence. An endless string of errors – diplomatic, military and political – is as difficult for the nation to reconcile with its ‘can-do’ self-image as is the admission of the glaring discrepancy between the belief in the country’s providential mission and its increasingly evident ordinariness. Vince Lombardi, the legendary American football coach, is often quoted as declaring: “Victory is not the most important thing; it’s the only thing.” That has been an implicit American motto from the beginning. However, in the global arena over the past generation, the U.S. has been setting records for failure and futility."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
Michael Brenner, "Lowering the Throne of America’s Delusion", Consortium News January 5, 2022
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Foreign_policy_of_the_United_States
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Foreign policy of the United States
100 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Foreign policy of the United States →
Related Quotes
"Wherever the standard of freedom and independence has been or shall be unfurled, there will her [America's] heart, he…"
"American foreign policy ... has, in ways direct and indirect, enhanced the ability of its growing legion of internati…"
"We have effectively given up on trying to block the president's criticisms of our friends. It can't be helped. He wan…"
"You can't overstate how damaging these presidential whims are to US security. Has it caused us to take a major credib…"
"President Trump has repeatedly astounded advisors by saying he wants to exit our biggest alliance of them all: the No…"
"I suppose some Americans don't care about foreign policy until a threat reaches our shores. They should care, because…"
"Maintaining a war machine that outspends the 12 or 13 next largest militaries in the world combined actually makes us…"
"This only perpetuates a failed foreign policy based on false choices between economic sanctions that UN officials hav…"
"The U.S. corporate media usually report on Israeli military assaults in occupied Palestine as if the United States is…"
"National Security Advisor John Bolton admitted during an interview with Fox News that Washington seeks “regime change…"