A Duty of Government?

SEPTEMBER 11 may not have changed everything, but it has had one shocking effect on American political life: People are rethinking their positions on foreign policy. Moreover, the rethinking is genuine and not merely a matter of political opportunism.

Not everyone has gone so far as Henry Kissinger, who now believes that the international system of sovereign states that began with the Peace of Westphalia—the system within which he has worked and thought all his life— needs to be substantially revised in an era of proliferating weapons of mass destruction. But conservatives of all stripes have been moved to reconsider their Clinton-era opposition to “nation-building.” For some left-wingers, merely rooting for the United States in a military engagement has required a radical change in sensibilities.

About the Author

Ramesh Ponnuru

Ramesh Ponnuru is the editor of National Review, a columnist for the Washington Post, and a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.

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SEPTEMBER 11 may not have changed everything, but it has had one shocking effect on American political life: People are rethinking their positions on foreign policy. Moreover, the rethinking is genuine and not merely a matter of political opportunism.

Not everyone has gone so far as Henry Kissinger, who now believes that the international system of sovereign states that began with the Peace of Westphalia—the system within which he has worked and thought all his life— needs to be substantially revised in an era of proliferating weapons of mass destruction. But conservatives of all stripes have been moved to reconsider their Clinton-era opposition to “nation-building.” For some left-wingers, merely rooting for the United States in a military engagement has required a radical change in sensibilities.