Stephen M. Walt

I did a lot of skimming in this thoughtful book. So, I'm a bit uneasy about stating my position, but here it is. Walt suggests a move away from our long-time US practice of "liberal hegemony" toward a practice of "offshore balancing". First, don't assume you know what is being referred to until you read Walt's definitions.

It seems to me that Walt is suggesting that we (the USA) move to a global engagement model based on the practice of preventing other countries from becoming hegemons through a variety of practices which he outlines. By doing this, and avoiding direct conflict, we can reduce our foreign investment costs, and reallocate these funds to domestic infrastructure needs (which I totally agree I would like to do).
The concern I have is that I can't see other nations accepting this practice by the USA (or any other nation) in the long term. Isn't every country going to want its "fair share" of global resources, human rights, and quality of life?
Hence, offshore balancing may be a step in the correct direction but it is short-sighted in my own view.
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We all remember the events of 9/11, but can you remember your thoughts from 9/12? Were you confused, questioning the reason(s) for these attacks? Aren't we the good-guys, fostering human rights, democratic values, and the removal of authoritarian rulers? Clearly, there must be, or must have been, something about our foreign policy in the Middle East to cause such hate and anger toward us. Do you find President Bush's attempted explanation that "... they hate us for our freedom and our democracy" as weak and totally inadequate?
Well, this book isn't intended to answer the question as to why we were attacked on 9/11, but it does attempt to address some of the claims of unequal treatment toward peoples in the Middle East, and how or why some of the U.S. policies anger Muslim nations. It also might give some insight into why Arab leaders often claim that this Country is "controlled by the Jews" or by Jewish interests. We tend to trust our media and policy makers as fair and even handed, because they tell us they are. But if you're looking for a critical review of those statements, this book is a good place to start. I found this to be an eye-opening and enlightening book, and should be interesting to anyone groping for a deeper understanding of how some of our policies in the mid-east are developed and applied and how that affects us all.
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Harvard international affairs scholar Stephen M. Walt is critical of the U.S. "foreign policy elite" in his book "The Hell of Good Intentions". I had trouble maintaining focus and interest, and didn't find the book to be an easy read, nor particularly helpful. I went through the book too quickly and failed to put the effort needed to retain the full message. This is more a reflection on my skill and efforts as a reader than on Walt's skill and efforts as a writer.
I gather the message he tried to deliver is that we continue to b e over-extended, and pick the wrong battles to fight, which in many cases only made things worse. For example, trying to aid eastern Europe energized Russia, which has been increasing its foreign power influence, as evidenced by seizing Crimea, confronting Ukraine, conduct cyber attacks in Estonia, and their interfere in our elections as well as in other countries. I believe he'd suggest that we need to change our focus, put our efforts chiefly where our interests are strongest.
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