We're the US, Wait, There's a Whole World Out There

You would be hard pressed to find someone to argue that US standing in the world hasn't faltered in the last four years. That big lie--remember, the one about WMD in Iraq?--weighs heavy on the reputation of a nation that once saved the French from Hitler. So, watching the delicate-tongued bigups attempt to sum up the US's stature in the world is often like watching an oscillating fan at close range. Surely there will be no surprises, the earth won't shake under your feet, and if you're lucky, your hair might get blown around a bit.

Former National Security Adviser to Presidents Ford and George I Brent Scowcroft takes his shot on the International Herald Tribune opinion page. Again, much of it is the ho-hum "we're not going anywhere" blather. Take his zinger, for instance: "The world is not susceptible to U.S. domination - but without U.S. leadership not much can be achieved."

Other points in his essay make exactly the opposite case. Democratically elected governments in Latin America and the Middle East espouse vitriol against a US that has carried out tragic policies in their regions for decades. "The United States must also come to terms with its own post-Cold War euphoria," Scowcroft writes. He points out that US foes have changed, yet, the US military arsenal looks much like the international diplomatic order: outdated.

"The major multilateral institutions, such as the United Nations, were crafted in a different era. Today's UN is grappling with two contradictory principles: how to reconcile the sovereign independence of the nation-state with the 'responsibility to protect.'" he writes, and he couldn't be more spot-on.

Yet, how much has the US itself rendered the UN out of fashion? Quite a bit, actually. Perhaps, then, it would be interesting to ask Mr. Scowcroft what he actually does see as a new legislative body in the international order? In so many words, he concedes that the US's tutelage has dwindled, if it hasn't come to a point where it is outright resented and done without. So, then, what would be a new internationalism for the US, and what are the first 30 steps its going to take for George II's kingdom to get there?

(Image from Greg Robbins' flickr.)