Chap 4: “Managing the Great Powers”

What grand strategy does Clinton’s foreign policy best fit into?

Why does Clinton pursue NATO expansion when Russia is opposed?

Was the US too close to the Yeltsin government? Was it wrong to back him?

Chap. 5: “The Clinton Years Assessed”

Did the Clinton administration err in not trying to develop a multilateral coalition to pressure Iraq to fully accept UN weapons inspections in 1997 and 1998? Was their insufficient US public and allied government support, or did the Clinton administration once more – according to Cohen – fail to lead?

Did the Clinton administration fail to do enough to improve ties with Iran under President Khatami from 1997 onward?

Was the “Agreed Framework” with North Korea in 1994 a mistake? What else should the Clinton administration have done?

How did the Clinton administration respond to the rise of al Qaeda? Was the reaction to the Aug. 1998 embassy bombings sufficient?

The bombings of Afghanistan and Sudan in Aug. 1998 and Iraq, with the UK, in Dec. 1998 are often characterized as being effort to distract from Clinton’s sex-impeachment scandal. Does Cohen support or reject that view?

Clinton gets the Chemical Weapons Treaty through the Senate in April 1997 but fails to get the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty approved in Oct. 1999, after India and Pakistan have tested nuclear weapons in 1998. Does this represent a failure in Clinton’s leadership or is it due to Republican obstruction?

The US fails to get sufficient support to modify the International Criminal Court treaty or the Mine Ban Treaty (but ratifies the CCW) and never ratifies them. Does this show that US global leadership was weak?

What grand strategy did Clinton follow?