A lot of people. Including elected Officials don’t really understand foreign policy to any meaningful degree.

It’s a complex web of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd order effects. Actions taken during one administration may only end up paying off a decade down the line during a completely different administration.

The people who get elected generally only have short term interests extending as long as their duration in office. Setting the stage for elaborate foreign policy initiatives they’ll never get credit for isn’t generally on their radar. They’ll do it of course if it’s on their Donors radar but they usually don’t have a complete understanding of what they’re doing. All they know is the people who funded their campaign want it done.

Part of the reason why the career bureaucrats and monied interests have most of the influence they do. They’re in a position to set the stage and play the long game. They aren’t bound by the fickle and rapidly changing interests of the electorate.

This wasn’t an issue so much in the founders day. Given how many of them were Traders, Merchants, and planters with international contracts and interests. Their Business by its nature necessitated an understanding of the complex web of effects. As opposed to modern day when politicians are generally careerists who never had to understand anything.