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Tricky Strategic Changes

On this episode of American Prestige, Stephen Wertheim on changes in US foreign policy.

Derek Davison and Daniel Bessner

August 20, 2024

In a TV speech to the nation from the White House, President Nixon announces that several thousand American ground troops have entered Cambodia to wipe out the Communist headquarters for all military operations against South Vietnam.(Getty Images)

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Tricky Strategic Changes w/ Stephen Wertheim | American Prestige
byThe Nation Magazine

On this episode of American Prestige, champion Stephen Wertheim, senior fellow in the American Statecraft Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, returns for a discussion of his recent piece for Carnegie, “Strategic Change in U.S. Foreign Policy.” The group muses on the difficulty of altering established foreign policy paradigms before delving into several case studies such as NSC-68, Nixon's Vietnam WithdrawalCarter's Failed Korea Withdrawal, NATO Enlargementand the Global War on Terroremphasizing the need for foresight, strategic planning, and a willingness to incur political costs to make such change possible.

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On this episode of American Prestige, champion Stephen Wertheim, senior fellow in the American Statecraft Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, returns for a discussion of his recent piece for Carnegie, “Strategic Change in U.S. Foreign Policy.” The group muses on the difficulty of altering established foreign policy paradigms before delving into several case studies such as NSC-68, Nixon’s Vietnam withdrawal, Carter’s failed Korea Wwithdrawal, NATO enlargement, and the Global War on Terror, emphasizing the need for foresight, strategic planning, and a willingness to incur political costs to make such change possible.

The Nation Podcasts

Here's where to find podcasts from The Nation. Political talk without the boring parts, featuring the writers, activists and artists who shape the news, from a progressive perspective.

Biden Green-Lights US Weapons Against Russia, ICC Issues Warrants for Israeli Leadership, Leftist Victory in Sri Lanka | American Prestige
byThe Nation Magazine

On this week's American prestige world news roundup: One more news episode before us Yankees have a holiday. Note: Although we will not have a news roundup next week, we'll have other new content.

This week: In Israel-Palestine, the ICC issues arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant (0:56) and the US vetoes another ceasefire resolution (6:11); US envoy Amos Hochstein is working on a ceasefire in Lebanon (8:50); in Sri Lanka, the leftist coalition wins a parliamentary majority (12:26); in Sudan, the RSF commits new atrocities (14:12) and Russia vetoes a ceasefire (16:33); in Russia-Ukraine, Biden gives Ukraine permission to use long-range US weapons in Russia (18:29), while Reuters reports that Putin is open to peace negotiations (23:19); the US recognizes opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez as president of Venezuela (24:55); a new armed group wreaks violence in Port-au-Prince, Haiti (27:09); and we have a New Cold War update featuring the final Biden-Xi meeting (29:10) and Biden’s last G20 summit (31:06).

Watch the new documentary from Al-Jazeera's Fault Lines program, "All That Remains", which follows a 13-year-old amputee from Gaza named Leyan as she seeks treatment in the United States.

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Derek DavisonDerek Davison is a writer and analyst specializing in international affairs and US foreign policy. He is the publisher of the Foreign Exchanges newsletter, cohost of the American Prestige podcast, and former editor of LobeLog.


Daniel BessnerTwitterDaniel Bessner is an historian of US foreign relations, and cohost of American Prestige, a podcast on international affairs.


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