The Folly of American Empire

It is time for fresh thinking about America's place in the world and the meaning of national security. As 2021 reaches its midway point, Americans are still clearing the wreckage of the past year -- a deadly pandemic has claimed nearly 600,000 lives in the U.S., racial protest continues to simmer -- while their government struggles to extricate its military from "forever wars" in the Middle East. U.S. Army veteran and historian Andrew Bacevich, who is currently the president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, says it is long past time to question the fundamental assumptions underlying "American exceptionalism." Our collective belief in the ability to manage history has led to folly, alienation, and national drift.