A Bumper Crop of Banana(s) Republicans

By John Bradshaw

March 18, 2015 | Huffington Post

One of the ironies of life in Washington is that those most concerned with American credibility are often working the hardest to undermine it. Under the new “Cotton doctrine,” unveiled in the now-infamous letter from Senator Tom Cotton and 46 other Republican Senators to the government of Iran, America’s commitments are only good for as long as the President who signed them remains in office. This is the way banana republics do business, not the United States. It’s an approach unworthy of our diplomatic traditions, and one that damages our ability to work with other nations and exercise international leadership.

As a former U.S. diplomat who served overseas under both Republican and Democratic presidents, I represented the United States, not the party in power in the White House. Whatever our political views, my colleagues and I were professionally obligated to secure America’s long-term interests, not to service transient political needs. We took that commitment seriously, because the many hundreds of international agreements that the U.S. is party to rely on its status as a credible partner, invested in the international system — a system it was instrumental in creating.

JOHN BRADSHAW IS THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE NATIONAL SECURITY NETWORK AND A FORMER FOREIGN SERVICE OFFICER WITH THE US DEPARTMENT OF STATE.

 

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Photo Credit: Congressman Tom Cotton Speaks at the 2013 CPAC Conference [Gage Skidmore, 3/14/2013]