Foreign Policy

In his May 24 Opinion article, Tad Szulc repeats the oft-heard complaint that U.S. foreign policy lacks an overarching or guiding principle, what George Bush might call “the vision thing.” Szulc, like all the other critics I have read, never offers any principle of his own. He simply deplores the improvisations and inconsistencies in administration foreign policy.

In my view, a certain ad hoc component is necessary in foreign policy. A country’s interests may vary at the same time in different parts of the world. Consistency is desirable, but flexibility may also be necessary. We certainly don’t want consistency to breed a counterproductive rigidity. Szulc and his fellow critics would deplore that situation as well.

ALLAN S. NANES

Thousand Oaks