Governments must consider the moral implications of their actions when formulating foreign policy

I Negate. I contend that the greatest obligation of any government is to protect the national interest. Governments are made for the sole purpose of providing protection and economic stability for their citizens. If they ignore this basic obligation than it ceases to be a just government. That concept is best described as the protection of national interest. Felix Oppenheim writes "Given that the national interest is the only standard practically available to statesmen, acting accordingly is to be characterized as rational. The concept of national interest refers to welfare goals of national governments on the international level, such as the preservation of political independence and territorial integrity. The formula of the national interest has become practically synonymous with the formula of national security. Foreign policies in defense of the national interest are to be distinguished from foreign policies aimed at promoting particular interests, or at the spread of some ideology, or at territorial expansion. I have three arguments as to why protecting the national interest is incompatible with Morality. A. Governments must make their decisions while impervious to the moral and ethical consequences of their actions, or else their decisions could have catastrophic national security impacts on their country. Oppenheim explains. "Moral advice not to submit to the necessities of survival would be advice to commit national suicide. The state has no right to let its moral disapprobation get in the way of successful political action, itself inspired by the principle of national survival. Being guided by general moral principles in this area easily leads to policies that are irrational from the point of view of the national interest. Acting "morally" at the international level may increase international tension and lead to over-commitment, endangering national security. " For example, in Iraq, Saddam Hussein was a murderer and genocidal maniac. So under false pretenses we invaded his country, expecting to be treated as liberators. Instead, we became embroiled in a deadly quagmire that gave Al Qaeda a resurgence and posed a genuine threat to our national security. Our morals have until recently kept us from understanding that the Taliban is not the same thing of Al Qaeda, but rather locals who are extremist but not dangerous to us if we separate them from the true maniacs. But the idea of dealing with any part of the Taliban kept us from utilizing this information. B. Attempting to apply morals to the foreign policy of a nation would require a military and diplomatic strength the likes of which this world has never seen. There are atrocities being committed everywhere all the time. Morality would ask that we invade North Korea, where their leaders are literally starving them to death. To invade Sudan and the Darfur, where mass genocide is being committed by these people's own government. To be punishing Saudi Arabia and all other Middle Eastern countries that force women to where Burkahs. The number of countries that are committing some kind of Human Rights violation is gigantic, and begins with ourselves, and with the torture of terrorists. I again quote Oppenheim. "It is pointless to urge governments on moral grounds to disregard the national interest for the sake of other goals. Some would say that "Looked at from the moral point of view, it cannot be right for one nation to allow the people of another nation to become the . . . victims of its own government. " But the moral point of view simply does not apply to such an ineligible goal. Complying with this kind of injunction might involve a nation in confrontations all over the world. No country, no matter how powerful, can afford to take on the role of global policeman. When [the goals of preventing human rights violations and protecting the national interest conflict], efforts at protecting human rights abroad would be, not morally right, but politically impossible, however much we may deplore that the United States cannot aim at securing human rights in North Korea or Darfur. " C. Finally, following a moral code implies that there is a universal morality that we all must follow, which is blatantly false. As I pointed out in my second argument, the moral codes of Saudi Arabia are vastly different than those of my native United States. if we are to survive in a nuclear world, we need to get past these differences in our moral code, or at the very least do not attempt to impose your own upon another. Speaking for myself personally, if anyone attempted to impose sh'ria law on the United States, I'd do everything in my power to stop them. And even this argument assumes we could find a universal morality within a nation! The United States is split into a two party system precisely because that is not the case. My moral code is vastly different than that of an evangelical, and we both consider ourselves to be morally superior. So in this argument I have proved you cannot have a universal Morality at a global level or even at a national level, but when you really think about it, there are rarely universal moral rules that guide even an individual. For Example, I believe killing is wrong, but if I was faced with the age old dilemma of killing one man to save many, I'd kill him. My point being, many of us have exceptions to even our most basic moral principles. How could we expect nations, which represent millions, or in some case billions, of individuals who can't even make up their own minds on moral truths, to somehow reflect a moral code representative of their people? So in closing, Government's greatest obligation is to the protection of its citizens, and everything else must be secondary to that. I have proved why morality and the national interest are entirely incompatible, and how impractical it is to even consider the possibility of a universal moral code. I look forward to a response, and have no doubt that this will lead to a fascinating exchange. Brian Bruzzo.