The imperial temptation

"With communism in retreat following the sudden end of the cold war, America's brand of democracy appeared triumphant around the world. Yet, paradoxically, the United States was left floundering for a new global agenda. In this critical analysis of American foreign policy priorities, Robert W. Tucker and David C. Hendrickson argue that the Bush administration, in its attempts to address the challenges posed by the new global realities, has betrayed the fundamental ideals on which this country was founded." "Taking the gulf war as their starting point, Tucker and Hendrickson dissect President Bush's vision of a new world order, exposing its inconsistency with America's traditional diplomatic principles. They criticize Bush's all-out military assault on Iraq as a disproportionate and inhumane response to the crisis. By using force to resolve the gulf crisis when other means were available--for example, a policy of "punitive containment"--and then walking away from the ruin created by the war, Bush succumbed to an "imperial temptation" that has seduced and corrupted other great powers in the past." "Tucker and Hendrickson make a compelling argument that U.S. foreign policy should retu