Rosa Brooks, a law professor at Georgetown and a columnist for Foreign Policy, has written a blistering critique of what she calls President Obama’s “lackluster foreign policy.” If Mitt Romney wins the White House, I hope that he pays careful attention to Brooks’ advice for the incumbent president, e.g.:
But if he wants good, candid feedback, President Obama needs to deal with more people. He should increase the number of press conferences he gives, increase the number of formal and informal meetings with members of Congress, and institute at least quarterly town-hall style meetings with his national security staff — invited based on position, not based on whether they’re in the in-club — and with other senior staff from State, Defense, and AID. He should also create internal “red teams,” tasked with pointing out the dangers and flaws of the policy approaches recommended by his senior staff — and he should require his staff to listen and respond to critics, instead of just repeating administration talking points.
I quite like this idea, though I’d be eager to hear from White House veterans on their feasibility.