A (Foreign Policy) Realist Primer

For John, BLUF:  There are limits to what we can do.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Out at Real Clear World Mr Robert Kaplan gives us "The Realist Creed".  It is a series of very short aphorisms to describe how a "Realist" views the world and what American can and can't do in its foreign policy.  Here is one of them.

Every Problem Does Not Have a Solution.  It is a particular conceit that every problem is solvable.  It isn't.  Mayhem and human rights violations abound, even as the United States cannot intervene everywhere or take foreign policy positions that will necessarily help.  That's why realists are comfortable doing little or nothing in certain instances, even as they feel just as bad as idealists about heartrending situations.

It is a tough world out there.  A Realist view of the world helps prevent additional disappointment above and beyond one's normal moral values.

I commend the other six to your quick perusal.

Regards  —  Cliff