What foreign policy should the United States adopt in the post-9/11 era?
The balance-of-power concerns that shaped U.S. foreign policy during
1917–1991 have faded sharply. The nuclear revolution has made
conquest among great powers impossible.
As a result other great powers now pose far less threat to U.S.
national security than in the past. At the same time a grave new threat
to the security of all major powers has arisen: terrorism with weapons
of mass destruction (WMD). This threat stems from two phenomena:
the spread of WMD materials and technology, and the rise of terrorist
groups that aspire to mass killing.
Threats to the global commons, especially global warming and
threats to global public health, also seem increasingly serious.
These new dangers—the WMD terror danger and threats to the
global commons—pose a common threat to all major powers. And they
cannot be defeated without common action by the major powers.