Liberal democracies such as the United States face an
acute dilemma in the conduct of foreign relations. Although many states
around the world are repressive or corrupt, U.S. national interests
sometimes demand cooperation with such actors. During World War II, the
United States even allied with Josef Stalin's barbaric, totalitarian
regime to defeat an especially dangerous adversary, Nazi Germany.
But such partnerships have the inherent danger of compromising, even
badly undermining, America's values of freedom and human rights—and
sometimes America's long-term security as well. Close working
relationships with autocratic regimes or political movements, therefore,
should not be undertaken lightly. U.S. officials have had a less than
stellar record of grappling with this dilemma, either during the Cold
War or during the more recent campaign against radical Islamic
terrorism.For U.S. foreign policy to be both effective and reasonably consistent with American values, certain conditions have to be met.
