TheAmericanForeignPolicyTradition I IbutfewrealSUCCeSSeS.In 1918 FrancerecoveredAlsaceandLorraine,but
onlyatthecostofa warthatbled itwhiteanddestroyedforever its
standingasa militarypowerofthefirstrank.France'sinterwarpolicy
wasnevercoherentorfeasible;theLittleEntenteineastcentralEurope
wasa fiasco,andFrance'scollapsein 1940 stillcastsa shadowOverits
standinginEuropeandtheworld.CharlesdeGaulle,unquestionablythe
greatestFrenchforeignpolicyleaderofthetwentiethcentury,is chiefly
celebratedforhiscourageinliquidatingthedisastrousstruggletomain-
taina colonialregimeinAlgeria.Overtheotherfailures,betrayals,bru-
talities,futilities,anddisastersofFrenchstatesmeninIndochina,andin
NorthandWestAfricaafterWorldWarII,letfriendshipandgratitude
forthelegacyofLafayettecasttheirveilsofdiscretion.France'sEuropean
policy underFran~oisMitterrandended with reluctantacquiescence
inGermanunification and a growingrecognition that thecentury-
longefforttodefendFrance'shistoricpositionastheleadingpolitical
powerinEuropehadfailed.Thisisnota recordforAmericanstatesmen
toemulate.
Farthereast,therecordisdarker.ShouldtheUnitedStatesimitate
the"realism"oftheSovietUnionandborrowthepolicyofthelosing
powerintheColdWar?OrshouldwelooktothepolicyoftheRomanovs,
whichbroughttheirempirecrashingdownintochaosandruin?
IfwereturntoGermany,weseethatthedelicatestructureSofBis-
marckcollapsed,thattheaggressivenessofKaiserWilhelmII ledto
disaster,andthatHitler'sdrivefordominationculminatedinnational
catastrophe.Japan's effortstomodelits foreign policy afterthoseof
Europeanstatesproduceda similardebacleinAsia.Itwasonlywhen
GermanyandJapanbegantotakelessonsfromthefecklesslyidealistic
UnitedStates-anemphasisoncommerceratherthanmilitarism,a dis-
inclinationtospendunnecessarymoneyontheirarmedforces,a dedi-
cation to the construction ofinternational systems ofsecurity and
law-thatthesetwocountriesbegantosucceed.Similarly,thegreatest
successstoryinmodernEurope,thedevelopmentoftheEU,originated
ineconomiccooperationdemandedbytheUnitedStatesinreturnfor
MarshallPlanaid,andJeanMonnet,thearchitectoftheunion,foundhis
inspirationandguidanceonthewesternsideoftheAtlantic.
Compared,insum,withthedismalrecordoftheothergreatpowers,
Americanforeignpolicy-witha handfulofexceptions,mostnotably
Vietnam-"looksreasonablygood.Castmoralityasideforthemoment.
Froma purelypracticalstandpoint,noEuropeanpower,withthepossi-