6 SPECIALPROYIDENCEnationalforeignpolicytraditiononthepartofsomanythoughtfulpeo-
plehereandabroad.Mostcountriesareguidedinlargepartbytradi-
tionalforeignpoliciesthatchangeonlyslowly.TheBritishhavesoughta
balanceofpowerinEuropesincethefifteenthcenturyandtheriseofthe
Tudors.TheFrenchhavebeenconcernedwithGermanlandpowerand
BritishorAmericaneconomicandcommercialpowerforalmostaslong.
Underboththeczarsandthecommissars,Russiasoughttoexpandtothe
southand thewest. Thoseconcernsstill shape theforeign policyof
today'sweakenedRussiaasitsttugglestoretaincontroloftheCaucasus,
projectinfluenceintotheBalkans,andpreventtheabsorption ofthe
BalticstatesandUkraineintoNATO.
OnlyintheUnitedStatescantherebefounda wholesaleandcasual
dismissalofthecontinuitiesthathaveshapedourforeignpolicyinthe
past."America'sjourneythroughinternationalpolitics,"wroteHenry
Kissinger,"hasbeenatriumphoffaithoverexperience....Tornbetween
nostalgiafora pristinepastandyearningfora perfectfuture,American
thoughthasoscillatedbetweenisolationismandcommitment."5
AtthesuggestionofcolumnistJosephAlsop,theextremelyintelli-
gentGeorgeShultzacquireda collectionofbooksaboutAmericandiplo-
macywhenhebecamesecretaryofstate,butnowhereinhisI,138-page
record ofmore thansix years' servicedoes he mentionanything he
learnedfromthem. 6 The 672 fascinatingpagesofJamesA.BakerIll's
memoirsofhisdistinguishedserviceassecretaryofstateare,withthe
exceptionofa passingmentionofTheodoreRoosevelt's 1903 interven-
tioninPanama,similarlydevoidofreferencestotheactivitiesofAmeri-
candiplomatsorstatesmenbeforeWorldWarIIJ
For Richard Nixon, American historyseemed to beginand end
withtheColdWar. Americanhistory before 1945 remained a fuzzy
blanktohim;eveninhisfinalbookhecouldcalltheUnitedStates"the
onlygreatpowerwithouta historyofimperialisticclaimsonneighbor-
ing countries"8-acharacterization that would surprise such neigh-
boringcountriesasMexico,Canada,andCuba(andsuchcountriesas
FranceandSpainthatlostsignificantterritoriestoAmericanambition)
asmuchasit wouldsurprisesuchexpansionistAmericanpresidentsas
ThomasJefferson,AndrewJackson,JamesKnoxPolk,JamesBuchanan,
UlyssesSimpsonGrant,andTheodoreRoosevelt.9Otherthanwarning
aboutthedangersofisolationismandofferingpanegyricsonAmerican
virtues,Nixonwaslargelycontemptuousoforsilentabout thetradi-
tionalaims,methods,andviewsofAmericanforeignpolicy,althoughhe