What should be the primary purpose or goal of U.S. foreign policy

I have no doubts that Hillary Clinton is not prepared to handle the foreign policies of the United States if elected President.  She has a track record as Secretary of State and her foreign policy was a disaster.  I cannot name one thing that she really accomplished as Secretary of State except get one of our Ambassadors killed. 

I have been listening for one of the Republican Primary candidates to give a thoughtful discussion on foreign affairs and as of today I have not heard any of them do so.  Their discussions on any subject have not been more than three minute sound bites.

Some right wing conservatives want our foreign policy to be based primarily on religious and ethical values and I disagree with them.  I think our foreign policy should be based primarily on advancing our national interest.

We should lead the people of the world by example, but we should not try to impose our moral and ethical values on any other country.  I do not know a single American that would approve of any country trying to impose their ethical and moral values on us.  The Muslim and Sharia Law question is an example of our distaste of anyone trying to change our system of governance.

Our foreign policy should have as its primary interest security, strong alliances, diplomatic success, and economic self-interest. Those interests have nothing to do with us wanting to be powerful and wealthy.  They have everything to do with making America greater for Americans.  What is wrong with wanting world events to work out in a way that benefits our interests?  Isn’t that what the people of other countries want for themselves?

I am sorry but I do not understand the wisdom in the United States borrowing money from China to assist other countries.  If we were not trillions of dollars of debt I would be all for our assisting any country that needed it.  If all Americans who wanted to work had jobs I would be for assisting other countries. 

For decades we have helped other countries that took jobs from the United States.  After World War II we rebuild Japan’s steel industry.  We installed the latest electric furnaces which destroy the U.S. steel industry.  My family suffered because of it.

I am for the strongest military in the world because I think it is a deterrent to our having to go to war.  I am not for sending troops to Iraq to overthrow a government when they have demonstrated they are not willing to fight for their own democracy.  We have done this over and over and not just in Iraq.

Some Liberals and some Republicans would like to see our Foreign Policy primarily based on a moralistic view that says the goal of U.S. foreign policy should be to advance American/humane values.  If we are demonstrating morals and humane values in the United States then perhaps the people of the world will want to model us.  We should not try to push/advance our values on others. I am for freedom, democracy, human rights, global peacemaking, and advancing the global common good, but I am not for doing it on the backs of the American taxpayers.  I am not for borrowing money to advance those goals. 

I am sorry but charity begins at home and your excess you share.  Do you think I would allow my family to starve or not have medical care while helping strangers?  That may be cold, but it is a fact.  No one reading this is more charitable than I am, but my family has never suffered so I could help others.

These Liberals and Conservatives that want this type of foreign policy are for maintaining substantial budgets for foreign aid, regular use of US diplomacy and perhaps military force to advance freedom and democracy, humanitarian intervention in situations of human rights violations, and strong support for the United Nations and other global and regional bodies.  They want us to police the world and I do not believe that is not what the people of the world want us to do. 

There are people in the Philippines where I presently live that are disgusted with America because that is exactly what they think America is trying to do in the Philippines. The Philippine government forced the United States to close its military installations in the Philippines shortly after Martial Law ended.  There are regular protests in front of the American Embassy in Manila today by students that are against U.S. intervention in internal affairs.  Any time the American Ambassador makes a comment on Philippine policies you can expect a demonstration.  

These Liberals and conservatives that have this foreign policy mindset think if we do not do as they say our only option is isolationism, which would limit international engagement and focus only on issues within our borders.  That is an extreme view.  We do not have to isolate ourselves from the world in order to have a foreign policy that is in the best interest of the United States. 

We can continue our trade agreements.  We can continue our disaster relief programs. We can continue to protect our allies from outside threats. But, nation building should not be our goal. 

They admit they want to use U.S. military power and U.S. dollars to fix world problems.  It has not worked in the past so why do they think it would work in the future?  All it has accomplished so far is to put us deeper and deeper in debt.  A debt we can never pay in full. It has caused us to be humiliated worldwide over and over again. What good is a weak and broke United States to the world? In a position of weakness we will not be able to help the people of the world in times of disasters and we certainly could not help our allies when facing outside threats. We would be forced to isolate ourselves and pray no one came after us.

Religious zealots try to push pious politicians toward the Good America philosophy where we try and buy friendships, push our religious beliefs on others and go deeper in debt helping some countries that do not want or appreciate our help. In a lot of cases the politicians in those countries steal the money for personal use and the people realize little to nothing from our help. It has been a normal practice for the U.S. to give aid with requiring accountability. 

They will tell you the morality in foreign affairs during the administrations of Wilson, Carter and Bush was good and criticize the foreign affairs policy of Nixon, but was it not Nixon that renewed our relationship with China. Was it not Nixon who signed the first arms treaty with Russia. Maybe you have to have foreign policies that fit the character and nature of the country you are dealing with. When dealing with corrupt politicians abroad they will take advantage of your religious values and moralistic views.  You have to deal with them on their level. They see you as being weak and STUPID!  Perhaps this is why we have so many bad trade policies with other countries. I do not think the Carter, Bush and Wilson foreign policies will be adopted by Donald Trump and that may be why he is leading in the polls.

I want to see a presidential debate that require candidates to clarify their foreign policy.