Does a Weaker America Make the World Safer?

The right believes that it will serve our country and all of humanity if the United States influences the rest of the world in the direction of American norms and values. The left maintains that both the U.S. and the world will benefit if the “community of nations” pushes our country toward a more internationalist posture, with less insistence on American distinctiveness and exceptionalism. If you believe that the United States would be better off as one more member of the world community rather than the dominant global power, then the Obama nuclear policy almost makes sense. <[>The same left-leaning ideologues who want to implement an economic leveling among all Americans also long to see a power-leveling among all nations of the earth. In the upcoming elections, most Americans may not comprehend the arcane details of nuclear policy, but they will certainly understand that a president who seeks to limit our military power and retaliatory options in no way contributes to our national security.