The most serious threat to global security is the United States.

To Foreign Policy Veteran, the Real Danger Is at Home

Richard N. Haass says the most serious threat to global security is the United States.

 

By Peter Baker

Peter Baker is the chief White House correspondent and interviewed Richard Haass at offices in Washington and New York.

• July 1, 2023

Everywhere he has gone as president of the Council on Foreign Relations, Richard N. Haass has been asked the same question: What keeps him up at night? He has had no shortage of options over the years — Russia, China, Iran, North Korea, climate change, international terrorism, food insecurity, the global pandemic.

But as he steps down after two decades running America’s most storied private organization focused on international affairs, Mr. Haass has come to a disturbing conclusion. The most serious danger to the security of the world right now? The threat that costs him sleep? The United States itself.

“It’s us,” he said ruefully the other day.

That was never a thought this global strategist would have entertained until recently. But in his mind, the unraveling of the American political system means that for the first time in his life the internal threat has surpassed the external threat. Instead of being the most reliable anchor in a volatile world, Mr. Haass said, the United States has become the most profound source of instability and an uncertain exemplar of democracy.

Lees verder:

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/01/us/politics/richard-haass-biden-trump-foreign-policy.html