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The Iraq debacle has paralyzed US foreign policy, rendering the American body politic incapable of responsibly exercizing leadership in world affairs.
On the one hand, the scaleback of US ambitions represents a realistic response to a changed geopolitical environment. The Bush* administration's abuse of international trust, which reached its zenith in Secretary of State Colin Powell's deceptive testimony before the United Nations Security Council, has severely undermined US credibility and substantially reduced US influence abroad. On the other hand, domestic sentiment is turning against involvement in foreign affairs, and in particular, the use of military force. Aspects of the current public mood can be explained as rational, understandable or realistic. In the whole, however, there is danger that a sentimental reaction to failures in Iraq will lead to a hardened resistence to contributing to the world's security needs, a position which reflects neither a realistic view of US interests, nor a morally responsible vision of the US's role in the world.
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