How America’s Forever Enemies Undermine Smart Foreign Policy

The author argues that Washington habitually cements early confrontations into lifelong antagonisms, a pattern he labels "forever enemies." He illustrates the trend with cases ranging from Cuba and Libya to Iraq, noting that even after regime changes the stigma often persists. Iran serves as the clearest example, where the 1979 hostage crisis and subsequent attacks still dominate U.S. perception, despite the regime’s evolution into a hybrid clerical-security state.

The essay then turns to Afghanistan, describing how the U.S. treated the Taliban as a foreign contaminant, withdrew in haste, and now sustains a minimal aid flow to a pariah regime. By contrast, the post-war normalization with Vietnam shows how engagement can transform a former enemy into a partner. The author concludes that while reconciliation is never easy, a measured, long-term engagement strategy is preferable to cementing perpetual hostility.