The question floating around the media lately is "should American soldiers die for Montenegro?" It's a variation on a much older question that the republic has pondered since we won the Revolutionary War and gained our independence from Britain, namely "should American form alliances with foreign nations?"
Today, this sounds like a silly question, but in the 18th century, it was a big deal. George Washington left sincere and sound advice that the United States should avoid foreign alliances.Washington did not want the USA brought into the seemingly endless wars that the European powers fought. He wanted America's focus to be here at home. He did not want us to waste our men or our wealth on foreign adventures.
Washington's view was held by the USA for a long time. As the nation got bigger, we expanded our presence in the world. We fought wars with other countries (and within ourself), but we didn't enter into foreign alliances for over a century. When World War I began in Europe (mainly due to the existence of alliances that dragged the major powers into the conflict), America stayed out. One of the biggest arguments against our entry into the war was that we should avoid foreign alliances. When that war ended, we stayed out of the League of Nations (which was the idea of our then president Woodrow Wilson) because the senators would not approve an international alliance, even for peace.
World War II changed that. The USA was in an alliance and that never ended. The reticence to engage in such alliances was broken. After the war, there was NATO, SEATO, CENTO and a bunch of other defense pacts. The USA changed from isolationism to internationalism. We fought the Cold War on the basis of our alliances.
The question of Montenegro, however, is different. The issue is not whether or not we should engage in alliances. That has been pretty much settled. The question with Montenegro is the proper extent of those alliances. Remember, Montenegro is a country that used to be part of the old Yugoslavia. Does having America agree to treat an attack on Montenegro as one on the USA really help American security? Why should we give a guarantee to this tiny country. What is the national interest that is served by that treaty? (To be clear, Montenegro would become part of NATO; it is not entering into a separate treaty with the USA.)
Today, this sounds like a silly question, but in the 18th century, it was a big deal. George Washington left sincere and sound advice that the United States should avoid foreign alliances.Washington did not want the USA brought into the seemingly endless wars that the European powers fought. He wanted America's focus to be here at home. He did not want us to waste our men or our wealth on foreign adventures.
Washington's view was held by the USA for a long time. As the nation got bigger, we expanded our presence in the world. We fought wars with other countries (and within ourself), but we didn't enter into foreign alliances for over a century. When World War I began in Europe (mainly due to the existence of alliances that dragged the major powers into the conflict), America stayed out. One of the biggest arguments against our entry into the war was that we should avoid foreign alliances. When that war ended, we stayed out of the League of Nations (which was the idea of our then president Woodrow Wilson) because the senators would not approve an international alliance, even for peace.
World War II changed that. The USA was in an alliance and that never ended. The reticence to engage in such alliances was broken. After the war, there was NATO, SEATO, CENTO and a bunch of other defense pacts. The USA changed from isolationism to internationalism. We fought the Cold War on the basis of our alliances.
The question of Montenegro, however, is different. The issue is not whether or not we should engage in alliances. That has been pretty much settled. The question with Montenegro is the proper extent of those alliances. Remember, Montenegro is a country that used to be part of the old Yugoslavia. Does having America agree to treat an attack on Montenegro as one on the USA really help American security? Why should we give a guarantee to this tiny country. What is the national interest that is served by that treaty? (To be clear, Montenegro would become part of NATO; it is not entering into a separate treaty with the USA.)
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