Comrade Hawley, Anti-Imperialist

Over at the Diplomat I take a few moments to discuss Josh Hawley’s “anti-imperialism,” and especially his argument that the United States can step back from globalism while stepping forward to confront China:

This may sound like an expansive program for a self-declared anti-imperialist, but even granting that Hawley’s commitment to both anti-imperialism and an exit from the Middle East are limited and opportunistic (he supports continued arms sales to the UAE, and continued U.S. military engagement with Saudi Arabia, as well as withdrawal from the JCPOA, and endless military action against Iran) we can nevertheless wonder whether such principles, if sincerely held, would lay out an actionable pathway for avoiding militarized confrontation and “forever war” in the Middle East.

Sadly, Hawley’s framing (even if taken sincerely) is self-contradictory and represents a false choice. 

Long story short, you can’t get to an end of “forever war” by going through China, because confrontation with China will inevitably lay the rhetorical foundation for the next generation of “forever wars.” “Out of the Middle East and Into the South China Sea!” is a slogan that ties together some of the more discordant parts of Trumpism (and can occasionally be found in some isolated corners of the Left) but calling China an existential threat is not a recipe for disengagement from any region. With respect to Hawley, the fact that his actual voting record is largely indistinguishable from the FDD wishlist on the Middle East should dissuade anyone in the “Restraint” community from picking up his standard.