The Liberal Case for American Power

About this episode

Shadi Hamid discusses his evolving views on American power and foreign policy, debating key issues with Coleman.

Shadi Hamid once marched against the Iraq War, read Noam Chomsky, and believed America was the root of the world's problems. He has since changed his mind—though not entirely. Now a Washington Post columnist and senior fellow at Georgetown University's Center for Muslim Christian Understanding, Hamid argues in his latest book, The Case for American Power, that American dominance, exercised morally, remains the world's best bet for stability and peace. He joins the show to make that case while refusing to pull his punches where America has fallen short. He and Coleman debate whether the Iraq War was worth it in the long run, why Joe Biden's Afghanistan withdrawal was a mistake, how the U.S. has failed to use its leverage over Israel, his fundamental mistrust of the Trump administration, and why a world where China balances American power is not the progressive fantasy some on the left imagine it to be. He and Coleman also get into the America First movement and the limits of the United Nations. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

People in this episode

Host: Coleman

Guest: Shadi Hamid

Topics covered

• American power
• Iraq War
• Afghanistan withdrawal
• U.S. foreign policy
• China
• Israel
• political debate

Keywords

• American dominance
• Iraq War
• Afghanistan
• U.S. leverage
• Trump administration
• China
• Israel
• United Nations
• political debate

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Washington Post, Georgetown University's Center for Muslim Christian Understanding, United Nations

Books & works: The Case for American Power

Places: China

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