What does US foreign policy stand for now?

Article shared by Kul Gautam

Given hardly any real cuts in the bloated Pentagon budget, but total elimination of USAID and huge cuts in the State Department's relatively small budget; elimination of functions dealing with democracy, human rights and refugee issues; and big cuts in embassies and consulates in Africa, the Fulbright scholarships, global health, and issues related to good governance, climate change, and countering corruption, etc. what American values does the new US foreign policy stand for?

Weakening of America's soft power & diplomatic tools; isolation from its network of allies who are threatened with trade and tariff wars, undermining of international organizations that reflected traditional US & Western values, leaves the US govt relying basically on its military might to exert any real global influence.

The saving grace could have been the vibrancy and inventiveness of the US private sector and academia. But even there, as the US becomes less welcoming of foreign students and faculty members in universities, the best and brightest of the world will go to universities elsewhere, thus causing the US to lose an important edge in attracting global talent and investment.

Perhaps unbeknownst to the MAGA movement (but certainly not to a previously fairly internationalist ex-Senator Marco Rubio), we seem to be witnessing the beginning of the end of an era of the American Empire and a century+ of Pax Americana.

Kul

Click here and here for the two articles in the NY Times

Summary
The White House’s proposed budget would halve the State Department’s funding, close diplomatic missions, and eliminate support for nearly all international organizations, including the United Nations, NATO headquarters, and various humanitarian agencies. Development assistance would drop to zero, global health programs would be cut by over 50%, and refugee aid would be restricted to emergencies.

These proposed cuts reflect a broader weakening of U.S. foreign relations and risk severely undermining the international institutions that rely on U.S. funding and political backing. The proposal has raised alarm among foreign policy experts and U.S. allies, who see it as a dramatic shift away from multilateral engagement.

Quotes:
“Funding for the UN, NATO, and 20 other organizations would be discontinued, with only limited contributions remaining for a select few.”
“It’s a retreat from diplomacy and international cooperation at a time when global crises—from conflict to climate—require exactly the opposite.”
“Cutting global health and humanitarian aid won’t just hurt vulnerable populations—it will also erode America’s credibility and leadership.”