Five arguments for U.S. ‘hard power’

PostOpinions contributor Robert Kagan says that while “soft” and “smart” power may be in vogue, there’s a danger in forgetting the importance of U.S. military power.

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The world’s free trade, free market economy has depended on America’s ability to keep trade routes open. In this photo provided by the U.S. Navy, the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis transits the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has threatened to blockade the strategic waterway, but the U.S. Navy has said it will not allow that to happen.

MC3 Kenneth Abbate / AP

The spread of democracy around the world owes something to America’s ability to provide support to democratic forces under siege and to protect peoples from dictators like Muammar Qaddafi. Here, doctors working at a hospital in the Libyan town of Benghazi join other protestors in calling for a no fly zone in March 2011.

ROBERTO SCHMIDT / AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Many nations rely on the United States for security against threatening neighbors. In this photo, a U.S. soldier from the 2nd Infantry Division wearing gas mask and anti-chemical gears participates in a U.S. and South Korea joint military drill.

Lee Jin-man / AP

Soft power has its limits. President John F. Kennedy found his global popularity of no use in confrontations with Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev.

/ ASSOCIATED PRESS

If the United States were to cut too deeply into its ability to project military power, other nations would lay claim to spheres of influence. Where power claims overlap, as with China's and India's claims of influence in the Indian Ocean, conflict might ensue. In this image, a Tibetan exile stomps on burning posters showing Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao at a protest against his visit to India, in New Delhi.

Kevin Frayer / AP

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