Special Providence_ American Foreign Policy and How It Changed World - Walter Russell Mead

TheRiseandRetreatof theNewWorldOrder 289

larenthusiasmformilitaryinterventionwaslimited.Revulsionagainst
atrocitiesdidnotquicklyoruniversallytranslateintothepoliticalwill
toputAmericanforcesinharm'sway.Themilitarywasprofoundlysus-
piciousofopen-ended,ill-definedhumanitarianinterventions,andthe
political establishment showed little interest in sending American
troopsagainsthostilefire.Televisionpicturesontheeveningnewsmade
Americansangry,andcreateda generalsentimentthat"somethingought
tobedone,"butthe"something"thatmostpeoplehadinmindnever
seemedtoincludegroundtroopswitha combatmission.
Inoneofhistory'smanyironictwists,asthekillingwentoninBosnia
Wilsonianswerelefttolobbyfor-well-war.TheColdWardoveshad
discovereda hithertounsuspectedtasteforblood.
Froma broaderhistoricalperspective,Wilsonianbloodthirstwasless
unexpected.Itisoftenthemostideologicallycommittedwhourgetheir
governmenttothestrongest,mostconfrontationalpolicies.Itwasthe
strictCatholics,nottheslackersandbacksliders,whowantedtomas-
sacreFrenchProtestantsonSt.Bartholomew'sDayin1572;itwasthe
fanaticalPetertheHermit,notcorruptandlazyclerics initonlyfor
themoney,whopreachedtheFirstCrusadebeginninginI096;itwas
theferventandmessianicRussianSlavophileswhodragged theweak
governmentofNicholasIIintotheassertiveBalkanpolicythatulti-
matelyforcedtheRussianEmpireintowhatbecameWorldWar1.When
Godclosesthebookson]udgmentDay,oneofthegreatquestionstobe
answeredwillbewhetherzealandidealismwereresponsibleformore
humansufferingthanwereslothandgreed.
TheWilsonians,ofcourse,havea far morebenignworldviewthan
someoftheideologiescitedabove.Itisalsotruethattheadviceofideo-
logicalactivistssometimeshasgoodresults,butitisstillclearthatit
isthetruebelieverswhooftenleadgreatpowersintoconfrontational
policies.
WhileWilsonianswereultimatelysuccessfulingettingtheUnited
StatestostartandfightanairwaragainstYugoslaviain1999,theevents
oftheninetiesonly underlinedtheextenttowhichAmericanpublic
opinionwas unwillingtofollowtheWilsonianleadintoonehumani-
tarianwarafteranother.ThegenocideinRwanda,thecivilconflicts
inSudanandSomalia,thehorrifying breakdownoforderandcivili-
zationinfailed stateslikeSierraLeone, theRussianwaragainstthe
Chechens, and theinternationalwarintheCongo didnotpersuade
Americanpublicopiniontobacka consistentstrategyofhumanitarian