Much has been made about comments from President Bush about talking to enemies, and his reference to those who wanted to appease the Nazis.
Talking to one's enemy is not the same as what Chamberlain did at Munich when he gave away the Sudetenland--a large chunk of Czechoslovakia inhabited by many German-speaking people.
From a purely philospohical perspective, if our government doesn't talk to our enemies there are a few bad results that occur. Number one we do not gain any understanding of what they want and we gain no perspective in learning how they see the world.
The second result is this: If we only talk to countries on our side then we will only hear what we already know or want to know. We come out of the diplomatic process with only the knowledge we entered the process with.
Talking to an unfriendly nation is not giving up or giving in--it is merely an attempt to reach across a divide and find common ground so that both sides can come together peacefully. We have an administration that has taken a course that is unilateral and the result has been two wars.
There are times when a unilateral approach is in fact necessary, but there are also times when diplomacy with our allies and non-allies is vital to solving the world's problems. I applaud Barack Obama's willingness to talk to friends and foes alike.
We have nothing to lose and everything to gain when we engage the world community in diplomacy. Anyone who suggests otherwise is trying to scare voters in this country into believing that diplomcay is a sign of weakness.
Believing that the State Department has as big a role in Foreign Policy as the Defense Department is not weakness--it is wisdom.
Barack Obama's administration will lead America with both strength and wisdom. That is what makes a great nation, strength alone will not do it. When he takes office in January of 2009 it will mark a new era for American Foreign Policy one that will restore the United States to our rightful place as the world's leader.
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