The Monroe Doctrine Is Dying
Commentary
“[T]he American continents … are henceforth not to be considered as subjects for future colonization by any European powers …. [W]e should consider any attempt on their part to extend their system to any portion of this hemisphere as dangerous to our peace and safety,” declared President James Monroe on Dec. 2, 1823. Writing in the Wall Street Journal almost two hundred years later, Walter Russell Mead—George Kennan like—warns: “From Tijuana to Tierra del Fuego, American interests are under threat as virtually every country in Latin America suffers from major and growing social, political and economic distress” and Latin America’s “ties with Russia and China are booming.” The Monroe Doctrine is dying….