This is Not Who We Are: The United States in Retreat

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This article was first published in the Daily Hampshire Gazette on 2 May 2025 and is republished with the author's permission.

Of the myriad devastating impacts resulting from the chaotic behavior of the current Administration, the effort to disparage, dismantle and defund the institutions of America’s international leadership and engagement is most strikingly at odds with America’s fundamental values and what it has long stood for – a reliable partner, a country of opportunity and hope, and a beacon to those seeking a better life.

With over forty years of experience, first serving as a Peace Corps volunteer, working for the US Congress, followed by 25 years working for USAID and the Department of State, and most recently leading non-governmental organizations, I can personally attest to the vital role and long-term value of our international engagement to the United States. 

Far from promoting any ‘radical ideological agendas’, the dedicated civil and foreign service officers, nonprofit organizations and volunteers are working to promote the interests and values of the U.S. and support equitable and sustainable development for the global common good.

The United States has long been an international leader in many spheres including technical innovation, medical and scientific research, business and finance, international conflict resolution and peace efforts, among others.  U.S. leadership in rallying NATO and other like-minded countries to support Ukraine to defend itself against Russian aggression or guiding the Paris Climate Accord to a successful end in 2015, are only a few examples of the importance of American leadership.

Looking further back, the prescient and enormously successful Marshall Plan to rebuild Europe after the end of World War II is emblematic of what truly makes America great. The strategic relationships and trust built up through the many dimensions of ‘soft power’ over decades have helped make the US the global powerhouse it is today.

The Fulbright Scholarship program which supports educational exchange between the U.S. and other countries is one effective example of how the United States has long attracted the best and brightest to our universities, businesses, and nation, contributing hugely to America’s preeminence in so many areas today: forty-two alumni are serving or have served as head of state, and 64 Fulbright alumni have won the Nobel Prize.  Sadly, today foreign students across the US are living in terror of being deported or having their visas revoked.

People of all political stripes agree on the need to improve government efficiency and effectiveness, which has been actively pursued by past Administrations. However, the reckless approach of taking a sledgehammer to the entire federal government and key institutions, aggressively threatening close allies and adversaries alike, is leading us in exactly the wrong direction. Not only is it wreaking havoc and chaos across agencies and services within the U.S., endangering critical government functions, but it is alienating the U.S. worldwide. Indeed, recent polls by Fox, Pew and others indicate most Americans do not support these policies by wide margins.

To be sure, there have been many missteps and mistakes in U.S. international engagement, such as the disastrous wars in Vietnam and Iraq, but overall, America has largely played a positive and important role, reflecting America’s core democratic values.

Americans should rightly be proud of having long been the global leader in providing critical humanitarian assistance to people in need, those suffering from famines, natural disasters, and wars, even in countries we were at odds with. In Ukraine alone, USAID reached over 16 million citizens with emergency food and shelter, safe drinking water, and leveraged U.S. resources to raise three times as much from other donors. 

Our foreign assistance budget has always been a tiny fraction—less than 1%—of the federal budget, but it has had an enormous, outsize impact and benefit to the U.S.  Combatting Ebola to prevent its spread to the US, strengthening countries’ health systems to prevent future pandemics spiraling out of control, promoting anti-corruption in countries to allow U.S. business an even playing field, supporting sustainable economic livelihoods to prevent migrant flows and alternatives to drug production, are only a few examples.  As in so many spheres, prevention always proves cheaper and more effective than responding to crises after they erupted.

The recent rash of actions to sharply diminish our international engagement and assistance are enormous strategic blunders with far reaching consequences. The dismantling of USAID —which has enjoyed tremendous bipartisan support in the six decades since it was created by President John F. Kennedy—has cut off life-saving programs and left thousands vulnerable to disease and famine. Closing the U.S. Institute for Peace, going after the Peace Corps, and the recent ‘reorganization’ of the State Department will all leave the U.S. weaker, isolated, and more vulnerable to a wide range of threats, severely undermining our global leadership and national security. As expected, China is happily stepping into the void we leave behind.

Not surprisingly, in response to the current upheaval and turmoil here, former friends and allies increasingly view America as a rogue, unstable state that cannot be trusted. Decades of U.S. international leadership, skillful diplomacy and generous foreign assistance have built relationships and trust that are now being recklessly squandered. These relationships cannot easily, or possibly ever, be rebuilt.

For better or worse, as Covid, climate change, and the integrated global economic system have made clear, we cannot wall ourselves off from the rest of the world.  The scope of current challenges—a looming recession, financial and political turmoil, climate change, epidemics, the use of AI, among others—makes it all the more important to stand strong in our core values and commitment to America’s continued international engagement and leadership. Working cooperatively with international partners is not optional; it is essential

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Polly Byers recently stepped down as the Executive Director of Karuna Center for Peacebuilding and has over 30 years’ experience working within and outside of the U.S. government managing international assistance and peacebuilding programs. Over a career working for the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Department of State, the Congressional Hunger Committee, international and non-governmental organizations, she has focused on collaborative approaches to increase local ownership of aid and peacebuilding efforts.  Ms. Byers holds an MA from Yale University in International Relations, a BA from Wesleyan University, and served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Morocco.