This Utopian vision was rejected by some of the most brilliant foreign policy minds of the Reagan era.
"It is a truism that power breeds arrogance," then-International Relations Chairman Henry Hyde told Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, when she appeared before his committee on Feb. 26, 2006. He rejected the notion that the United States had a mission to use its unprecedented power to spread democracy, and predicted such a policy would backfire. "(I)mplanting democracies in large areas would require that we possess an unbounded power and undertake an open-ended commitment of time and resources, which we cannot and will not do," he said.
In her posthumously published book, "Making War to Keep the Peace," Reagan Administration U.N. Ambassador Jeane Kirkpatrick rejected a foreign policy of democracy-promotion and nation-building in almost the same terms as Hyde. "No one knows how to harmonize hostile elites, end violent behavior or induce respect for the law and restraint in the use of power in another culture without a larger commitment of personnel, money and time than any president or any administration is prepared to make," she wrote.
Neither Hyde nor Kirkpatrick held that the United States should never overthrow a foreign regime or foment democratic revolution, only that such actions must always be subservient to a careful calculation of the national interest. "Moreover, even if such an act were justified," said Kirkpatrick, "the Reagan doctrine did not dictate that such an action was always wise -- rather, it counseled that the long-term costs and benefits of such an action be carefully weighed before taking any steps. Because once we intervened in a given situation, we are accountable for the outcome."
There a many points worth debating in Huckabee's Foreign Affairs article, but probably none as important as his suggestion that the United States not repeat with Iran our mistakes with Iraq.
"Whereas there can be no rational dealings with al-Qaeda," wrote Huckabee, "Iran is a nation-state seeking regional clout and playing the game of power politics we understand and can skillfully pursue. We cannot live with al-Qaeda, but we might be able to live with a contained Iran."
That sounds a lot like the strong but humble approach that helped get Bush elected -- and might have served him and the country better had it guided his presidency.