With all that is crying out for attention — from our inner cities to the slaughters in central Africa — can we really afford this missionary zeal to remake the Middle East in our own image? We could end up merely creating for ourselves ever more crumbling frontiers of insecurity. Successful in our Iraq military campaign, is it not time to rein in our own "forward" school and be a little more modest in our aims, language, spending and relations with the international community? Just a few days ago, I was shocked when a Dutch journalist told me that many of his countrymen were now "scared" of America. The Dutch. Scared. Is that a good long-term policy for the number one power in the democratic world?
The Dutch aren't alone, of course. Most countries in the world, including members of the current anti-Saddam coalition, are dumbfounded at the threats against Syria and Iran made by influential members of the Bush administration. Still, despite the fears of liberals at home and abroad, there are at least four reasons to think we will not be marching on Damascus or Tehran — at least not now. The first is the announced recall of some of the U.S. Navy's carrier groups and the return of other military units for rest and overhaul. The second is that, during the prime minister's question time in the House of Commons last week, Tony Blair insisted that there were "no plans" for invading Syria. The third is that an aggressive move against the governments in Damascas or Tehran would probably provoke the wholesale resignation of the U.S. foreign service, including its boss, Secretary of State Colin L. Powell. And the fourth is that even the present supine Congress would bestir itself and demand that the brakes be applied. "Big stick" warnings to Syria and Iran may continue, but neither the Marines nor the Army are about to embark on another war.
But Paul Kennedy is a pussy. He hasn't embraced the new Imperial America, The Country That Will Remake The World Without Fucking It Up Like Everybody Else Did®. It's time for everyone to accept the fact that peace lost, war won, and it's time to kick some ass.
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