Faith and Diplomacy: Analysis
The purpose of this paper is to introduce, discuss, and analyze the essay "Faith and Diplomacy" by Madeleine Albright. Specifically it will discuss the religious support for the war in Iraq, and how faith-based influence has helped create and continue the war in Iraq and the war on terrorism. The war in Iraq is based on the war on terror throughout the world, and initially, the American people believed the war was a result of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) that were being stored in the country. That turned out to be false, and many experts believe the war in Iraq is actually based on faith, specifically the American Christian faith, fighting "good" against "evil." This foreign policy is disruptive at best, and indicates that foreign policy based on religion can be extremely damaging to all the nations involved.First, some background on the war in Iraq. The war began in March 2003, when U.S. and coalition forces invaded the country on the pretext of seeking out and destroying WMD, which were subsequently never found. A secondary purpose of the invasion was to bring democracy and freedom from oppression to the region by helping Iraqi leaders set up a democratic government. Many experts believe that the vast Iraqi oil fie
William Boykin, currently a deputy undersecretary of defense for intelligence, argues that the fight in Iraq is between a 'Christian nation' and 'Satan,' and can only be won 'if we come against them in the name of Jesus'" (Hallinan). They are also banking on the government being able to effectively rule and keep the peace before American forces can come home and the war can end. The problem with religious based foreign policy is that it is often rigid and lacking in flexibility and this is the case in Iraq. " In her essay, Madeleine Albright notes, "The challenge for policy-makers is to harness the unifying potential of faith, while containing its capacity to divide" (Albright 3). Two experts on the war write, "Iraq at the start of 2008 is even more bitterly divided along ethnic and sectarian lines than it was at the start of 2007, increasing the possibility that the recent declines in violence may be a temporary lull" (Katulis and Juul). Our foreign policy in Iraq is based on religion, but it should not be forgotten that Iraqis, although divided, share the same deep convictions about their beliefs that we feel about ours. In conclusion, it seems inevitable that religion and foreign policy are intertwined. The Pentagon also supports this view, as writer Hallinan continues, "The Pentagon is a strong supporter of Operation Straight Up (OSU), which delivers entertainment and sermons to troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. The administration has made no attempt to hide the fact that much of its policymaking is based on faith-based initiatives, from their lack of support of stem cell research to their placing of conservative Supreme Court judges to help overturn legislation such as Roe v. It is just as Albright noted, that religion and foreign policy cannot be divorced, but they need to be understood completely, or the foreign policy will be lacking. She also notes that if foreign policy is going to be built on faith that a clear and deep understanding of the nation's belief systems is key to creating a foreign policy that will work. Most of the violence against American soldiers in Iraq comes from religious factions opposed not only to the American presence in the country, but to the Iraqi government and its exclusion of some religious factions like the Sunnis.
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