Do you have an example of a country that does not impose its will on others to the extent it is able? China blocks international action in Darfur because of its oil interests; France maintains a military presence in its former African colonies. If anything, the US does not impose its will enough. Japan’s constitution was written by MacArthur, and Japan has been a stable democracy for 60 years. In Afghanistan and Iraq, we stood by and watched as Islamic bigotry was enshrined in the central law of both nations.

I’m not reflexively opposed to the rise of non-US nations, but there aren’t very many responsible actors on the world stage. India, from what little I know, seems respectable, and I think Bush has done well to improve relations with them. But I have scant hope that the gentlemen behind the Tiananmen Square crackdown want to treat me any better than they treat their own citizens.

Where would you like to see more cooperation? With whom would we cooperate? What would it cost us? And what would we get?