New Reality of American Power

American power is the most important new reality of the 21st century, says Paul Reynolds, world affairs correspondent for the BBC News Online. Despite the continued relevance of alliances and multi-lateral organizations such as the UN, the massive show of force in Iraq should be a warning to all – including North Korea and Iran – that the Washington carries a very, very big stick. While the Bush administration prepares to make the world safe for democracy – or for its own, narrower interests, as some claim – dictators around the world must sit up and take note, he says. The US in the 21st century, he concludes, is playing the role of Great Britain in the 19th century: "The guns of the Royal Navy have given way to the precision guided weapons of the US Air Force." – YaleGlobal