In the early days after 9-11, the history was clear. The world understood that the United States had to find and eliminate the people responsible for launching and supporting that attack. The world rallied to the US cause.

As time went on, however, a new history began to develop. It became apparent that the US’s place in the world was beset not just by the likes of al Qaeda, but also by the forces of other nations that considered the US an enemy and even by some nations who publicly called the US a friend. The world started making excuses. [...]