Austin, Tex.

AMERICAN foreign policy today is reactive, unfocused and ineffective. The Obama administration is concentrating almost entirely on preventing bad situations from getting worse. This is true in Afghanistan, Pakistan, North Korea and Iran. The Arab-Israeli peace process is dead, and the White House is struggling to salvage some remaining hope. Europe is teetering on the edge of financial collapse, and America can only encourage its allies to buy more time on depleting credit.

We are trying to accomplish too many things in too many places at a time when American foreign policy is stymied by some of the worst partisan divisions in the country’s history. Consequently, we are not doing anything very well.

The solution is simple: set clear priorities and reduce other commitments. The Obama administration should set three international goals that it is capable of achieving: maintain the credibility of the dollar as the de facto reserve currency of the world; halt the proliferation of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons; and maintain peaceful relations with China. This is not a recipe for isolation, but for targeted internationalism; it is the only viable path to restoring lost leadership.

The United States has good reasons to care about other issues — from nation-building and human rights to climate change and energy security — but severe economic constraints and bitter partisanship make success on those issues unlikely. What is required right now is a disciplined return to basics.