Coalition for a Realistic Foreign Policy

The Coalition for a Realistic Foreign Policy "is a group of scholars, policy makers and concerned citizens united by our opposition to an American empire. The Coalition is dedicated to promoting an alternative vision for American national security strategy that is consistent with American traditions and values.

"The Coalition has attracted interest and participation from individuals from across the political spectrum. The effort began as an informal study group, but has evolved into a formal response to the prominent think tanks and publications that are openly advocating an activist American foreign policy in which the United States would use its predominant military and economic power to promote change abroad."

Jim Lobe, in his news article "Foreign Policy Experts Target U.S. 'Empire-Building'" published October 17, 2003, announced the advent of yet another response to American imperialism, the Coalition for a Realistic Foreign Policy, "a new coalition of prominent foreign-policy scholars and analysts whose political views range from right to center-left [which] announced [on Thursday, October 16 that] they hope to spearhead opposition to the imperial policies pursued by the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush."


 * "Leaders of the Coalition for a Realistic Foreign Policy ['Opposed to the Perils of Empire'] charged that the administration is moving in a dangerous direction toward empire, an idea that they said has never been embraced by the U.S. public.


 * "The spokespersons said they will hold a series of policy forums and conferences around the country, publish papers and articles, and represent an anti-imperial viewpoint on television and radio, media that, since the Sep. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on New York and the Pentagon, have been largely dominated by pro-imperial or pro-war voices.


 * "We are a diverse group of scholars and analysts from across the political spectrum who believe that the move toward empire must be halted immediately, says the coalition's charter statement (titled 'The Perils of Empire'), signed by 44 foreign-policy specialists. We are united by our desire to turn American national security policy toward realistic and sustainable measures for protecting U.S. vital interests in a manner that is consistent with American values, it added. The time for debate is now, the charter states, noting that imperial policies can quickly gain momentum, with new interventions begetting new dangers."


 * "A major target of the group will be the neo-conservative strategists in and around the administration, especially those close to Vice President Dick Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who led the charge into Iraq, continue to argue for military and other actions against Syria, Iran, and North Korea, and promoted the larger strategic vision of global U.S. military dominance.


 * "The coalition's purpose appears to be, above all, to publicly take on liberals and conservatives who support the administration's imperial policies, beginning with its National Security Strategy (National Strategy to Combat Weapons of Mass Destruction) ... issued 13 months ago [*actually dated December 2002], [calling] for Washington to maintain its predominant position in the world at all cost, even to the extent of waging preemptive war against would-be rivals, and to reshape regions of the world in ways that are compatible with U.S. interests and values."

Lobe identifies members of the Coalition as:

"Right-wing":


 * Doug Bandow, "a special assistant to former president Ronald Reagan and now a senior officer at the libertarian Cato Institute"
 * Scott McConnell, "chief editor of 'The American Conservative' magazine"
 * Alan Tonelson, U.S. Business & Industrial Council Educational Foundation
 * Christopher Preble, Director of Foreign Policy Studies, Cato Institute; "a Cato analyst who played a key role in convening the group"

"Centrists":


 * Steven C. Clemons, President of the New America Foundation
 * Gary Hart, former senator
 * Stephen Walt, Harvard international relations professor

"Leftists":


 * Charles A. Kupchan, "an aide to former president Bill Clinton and now with the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR)"; associate professor, Department of Government, Georgetown University
 * Kenneth Sharpe, "a prominent foreign-policy analyst from Swarthmore College in Philadelphia"

==Statement of Principles by the Coalition for a Realistic Foreign Policy: Signatories ==
 * Robert J. Art, Brandeis University
 * Andrew Bacevich, Boston University
 * Doug Bandow, Former Special Assistant to President Ronald Reagan
 * Nicholas Berry, Foreign Policy Forum
 * Richard K. Betts, Columbia University
 * Seyom Brown, Brandeis University
 * Ted Galen Carpenter, Cato Institute
 * Jonathan Clarke, Cato Institute
 * Steven Clemons, New America Foundation
 * Michael Desch, Texas A&M University
 * Carolyn Eisenberg, Hofstra University
 * Ivan Eland, Independent Institute
 * Paul Gessing, The Free Liberal
 * Eugene Gholz, University of Texas, Austin
 * Mike Gravel, Former U.S. Senator from Alaska
 * Leon Hadar, Cato Institute
 * Gary Hart, Former U.S. Senator from Colorado
 * David Hendrickson, Colorado College
 * Robert Higgs, Independent Institute
 * Theresa Hitchens, Center for Defense Information
 * David Isenberg, British American Security Information Council
 * Robert Jervis, Columbia University
 * Chalmers Johnson, Japan Policy Research Institute
 * Peter Krogh, Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University
 * Charles Kupchan, Georgetown University; Council on Foreign Relations
 * James Kurth, Swarthmore College
 * Christopher Layne, Texas A&M University
 * Anatol Lieven, New America Foundation
 * Justin Logan, Cato Institute
 * Scott McConnell, The American Conservative
 * John J. Mearsheimer, University of Chicago
 * E. Wayne Merry, Former State Department and Pentagon official
 * Daniel Nelson, University of New Haven
 * Robert Paarlberg, Wellesley College
 * Edward A. Olsen, U.S. Naval Postgraduate School
 * Michael D. Ostrolenk, Center for Liberty and Community
 * Edward L. Peck, Former U.S. Ambassador
 * Charles Pena, MSNBC terrorism analyst
 * John L. Petersen, President, The Arlington Institute
 * Barry R. Posen, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
 * Christopher Preble, Cato Institute
 * Daryl Press, University of Pennsylvania
 * Jeffrey Record, U.S. Air War College
 * Andrew L. Ross, University of New Mexico
 * Paul Schroeder, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
 * Sherle Schwenninger, World Policy Journal
 * Kenneth Sharpe, Swarthmore College
 * Jack L. Snyder, Columbia University
 * Robert W. Tucker, Johns Hopkins University
 * Marian Tupy, Cato Institute
 * Jon Utley, Americans Against World Empire
 * Stephen Van Evera, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
 * Jason Vest, The American Prospect
 * Stephen Walt, Harvard University
 * Kenneth N. Waltz, Columbia University
 * Cindy Williams, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
 * John Willson, Hillsdale College

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