Disorderly or Not, America Should Withdraw

Foreign policy is normally formulated in terms of interests and threats. Since the dramatization of the terrorist threat by the al-Qaida attacks on the United States in 2001, the order has been reversed and analyses emphasize threats over interest. Yet threats are many, and interests -- vital interests that concern the security of a nation -- are by nature limited. When the two are confused, it is easy to fail to discriminate among necessity, prudence and advantage in making policy -- and beyond that, to risk losing your grasp on what is feasible.