Wohlforth argues that instead of pulling back, the U.S. should “lean forward.” He says the core of the United States’ foreign strategy “continues to be in America’s interest.” Wohlforth tells Ashbrook that at the core of the current strategy is “a series of security guarantees to partners and allies around the world. As a result of which, bad things that could happen, don’t happen. …The strategy, in many ways, is preventing a worse world from emerging.”
Wohlforth is co-author of “Lean Forward: In Defense of American Engagement,” published in the current issue of Foreign Affairs.
Listen to the full story, broadcast 1/23/13 on NPR.