Fareed Zakaria: "U.S. should stay away from the crisis centers"

Jolanta Jasina reviews Fareed Zakaria's visit to Yale University's Jackson Institute for Global Affairs. Fareed Zakaria emphasized that while he would encourage both nation building in Iraq and the continuation of the policy of counter-terrorism, these should no longer be the top priorities of American foreign policy. Rather, the aim of the current administration should be “to rebalance American policy away from the crisis centers” and focus on America’s relationship with China, India and Brazil. “We should move from the past to the future,” argued Zakaria. “We should worry about the people who are trying to kill us, not about women wearing the veils”, he added pointing to American’s biased perception of international affairs, heavily influenced by September 11^th.

On Iraq: "costs definitely outweigh benefits."

On China: "He first described it as “arrogance”, but later referred to it as “confidence based on reading the facts”. China wants to play a role in the world, but this role is not clearly demarcated, yet. At the moment, China’s foreign policy is governed by two short-term, narrow goals: procuring access to natural resources and Taiwan. He emphasized that China should be America’s partner, not enemy, and that despite the different stages of development of the two countries (post-national versus national), this partnership is possible and desirable."

The sources:The discussion of President Levin with Fareed Zakaria. Tweets that mention Away from the Crisis Centers: a Discussion with Fareed Zakaria by Jolanta Jasina | Yale Journal of International Affairs -- Topsy.com