Jeffrey Wernick delivers a thorough critique of modern American foreign policy, arguing that the United States has strayed far from the principles its founders emphasized.

Drawing on George Washington’s farewell address and John Quincy Adams’ stance against intervention, Wernick underscores the dangers of permanent foreign alliances, military entanglements, and selective application of moral principles.

He highlights the United States’ role in supporting occupations, particularly in the Middle East, as an example of policies that contradict the ideals of consent of the governed and universal human equality.Wernick points out inconsistencies in U.S.treatment of nations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, noting that Israel, which avoids inspections, receives support, while Iran, which complies, is treated as a threat.

He stresses that America’s historical wrongs, including slavery and colonialism, should compel the nation to avoid repeating those mistakes rather than justify ongoing injustices.Ultimately, Wernick frames U.S.policy as a crisis of national identity: whether the country will continue down a path of empire and perpetual war or return to the founding tradition of diplomacy without domination and principles applied universally rather than selectively.