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Originally Posted by Edward64
Klingerware. I think your point is 'be also concerned about West relations vs Russia/China/India' and not just 'West relations vs Muslim countries'. As a IT professional, I am aware of the current and looming economic competition. I have resigned myself that this is a natural evolution of the competitive forces freed up with growing capitalism in China/India (and Russia).
I tend to believe though this relationship is more stable/rational/predicatable as it is driven primarily by economic forces. The US/West relationship with Muslim countries seems more unpredicatable and prone to escalation (I think its because Religion seems to play a major role). In my mind, this is the more dangerous of the two.
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My main point is that the US should take a macro, long-term view with regards to its foreign policy. I am not saying that the US relationship with the Middle East is unimportant, but I think the US can do a better job of assessing the long-term implications of its policy decisions. I am also not saying the current US policies are "right" or "wrong", but whatever decision is made there will be consequences. Policy-makers should be doing a cost-benefit analysis of policy consequences. For example, what are the implications of the military and political costs we are expending on the Iraq and Terror policies for our future political and economic competitiveness down the road? Maybe our current policies will be worth the costs, maybe not. Maybe there will be another 90s-style economic expansion that will render the economic stagnation worry moot, maybe not. It is of course difficult to peer into the future, but it is still useful to be more mindful of long-term consequences--it is something that with which we don't seem to do very well.