by Tom Donelson
Did DeSantis revive the Weinberger doctrine in his interview with Tucker Carlson at the Family leadership summit? Just a remainder, those principles were:
1. Forces should not be committed unless the action is vital to national interest.
2. Forces should be committed wholeheartedly with the intention of winning – or they should not be committed at all (No half-hearted commitment).
3. Forces should be committed with clearly defined political and military objectives.
4. The use of force should be the last resort (after all diplomatic initiatives have been exhausted).
5. The relationship between objectives and the force committed should be continually reassessed and adjusted if necessary.
6. Before committing forces abroad (in foreign countries) there should be some reasonable assurance of public support.
DeSantis mentioned in his interview that the lessons he learned from his experience in the Middle East that you needed a concrete end game, and he criticized that the present foreign policy establishment failed to detail an endgame in Ukraine. He added that they should be concerned about the southern border. His own stated goal is a sustainable peace in Europe and details a path to that. (But he did not elaborate on how to but this format was conducive to a more in depth details.) He added that China is the number threat and is indicating he would concentrate on dealing with China just as Reagan number one objective was the Soviet Empire. Like Trump he would force Europe to spend on their defense. Would be interested how DeSantis view Polish government own increase spending and the biggest land army in Europe and their economy has been growing and prepared to surpass Great Britain in 2030. How would President DeSantis deal with Poland and other nations in Central Europe.)
DeSantis made it clear that whether military support or the imposition of troops in foreign lands must have clear objectives and his criticism of recent past in our policies in Iraq and Afghanistan dealt with changing objectives from stopping Weapons of Destruction and evolving into nation building which in Afghanistan failed. He is talking a return of modest foreign policy that George W. Bush campaigned in 2000 and before 9/11. As the campaign continues, we will see more details about his foreign policy will surface but for now, he is following a more modest policy with China his number one threat.