America Goes Backward

After the war in Iraq, the US Bush administration is once again criticized by many. In this feature article in the New York Review of Books, Harvard scholar Stanley Hoffmann argues that not only has the administration's unilateralism resulted in anti-Americanism overseas, but also domestic concerns of justice issues, among others. Furthermore, seeing itself as the world's peacekeeper, the US is actually adding unnecessary burdens to itself – tasks that cannot be handled effectively by the US alone. Many issues, such as the "nation-building" of Iraq and the changing relations between Israel and Palestine, require help from other countries and international institutions. Indeed, the current leaders of the US should start self-examination of domestic and foreign policies now, Hoffman suggests. – YaleGlobal