A Critique on the Interview with Dr Michael Scheuer - Essay Example

The ‘Conversations With History’ video showed a discussion hosted by Harry Kreisler on the US Foreign Policy and Terrorist Threat with Dr. Michael Scheuer, former CIA Chief of the Bin Laden Unit. The discussions delved into numerous topics from the book written by Scheuer entitled Marching Toward Hell: America and Islam after Iraq. The subjects of discussion ranged from the skills and qualifications needed to be employed by the CIA, Bin Laden as a threat, the issue of proxies, the rendition program, prisoners of war, the threats of impending enemies, and what the impending war is all about. A noteworthy remark from among many that were discussed by Scheuer was that foreign policy should DEFEND America, and not only DEFINE what America is.

The contention emphasizes the need for the US to closely review and evaluate the contents and implications of foreign policies in terms of its continued ineffectiveness in defending the citizens of this nation. The solid proof that evidenced America’s lack of defense is the 9/11 incident, which, according to Scheuer attests to the fact that only in America can America not defend itself.  This is also the reason why he opted to resign as Chief of the CIA unit, identified to have been instigated by al-Qaeda, a group led by Osama Bin Laden. By not being able to pre-empt the terrorist attack that led to the death of thousands of innocent people, as head of the unit in charge of overseeing Bin Laden’s plans, Scheuer’s resignation could have been the most honorable move, as the head of the unit.

By involving ourselves in more global issues than in focusing on root grass frameworks (like energy or the environment, as mentioned), America exposes itself to impending future terrorist attacks where it could not be more difficult to respond as there would be nothing to respond against. This nation has been so focused on intervening in other nation’s affairs that its national defense has totally been weakened.

Likewise, Scheuer emphasized that in some nations, like the Muslim states, where religion and state are not separated. At the time of the interview, he revealed that religion remains an issue where majority of the Americans still do not believe in God. In contrast, other cultures have been significantly driven and influenced by religion, like Islam, in particular. Their foreign policies incorporate religion and are designed to protect national interests more than global goals.

 I fully agree with Scheuer’s remark that there is a need to reassess and restructure foreign policies to specifically address measures that would protect and serve the interests of American citizens first and foremost than any other citizens of the world. His other statement is that from among the most educated nations around the world, America is the least educated. Envisioning retaining world leadership and superpower status, is a quandary as to why America exhibited tendencies of refusing to use military power and resorting to increasing covert operations to address terrorist threats. The repercussions of this particular strategy are tantamount to a weakening of national defense that exposes each and every American to more threats from enemies that we cannot deter.