The Five Most Abused Foreign-Policy Cliches

The Five Most Abused Foreign-Policy Cliches

Mar 01, 2014 02:00 am | Paul J. Saunders

Paul J. Saunders

In his compelling essay “Politics and the English Language,” George Orwell links the decline of civilizations to a self-reinforcing relationship between muddy thinking and bad writing. “If thought corrupts language,” he writes, “language can also corrupt thought.” In that spirit, I encourage all to think carefully before employing any of the following five phrases, which tend to obscure rather than enlighten.
5. Vital national interests
Writers and speakers should refer to America’s “vital national interests” only in connection to something that is truly vital, meaning “concerned with or necessary to the maintenance of life” or, more loosely, “of the utmost importance.” In foreign policy terms, one good definition of vital national interests is those “conditions that are strictly necessary to safeguard and enhance the well-being of Americans in a free and secure nation.” They are beyond even important interests and eclipse mere preferences.
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