Today I heard Madeline Albright, secretary of state in Clinton administration and the first woman to have served in this position. Many consider her one of the better secretaries of state US has had, especially for her role in stopping the genocide in Kosovo. She can also be credited for getting very close to a solution to the middle east problem and visiting Pyong Yang to meet Kim Jong Il. Despite her successes, there is also a huge blemish on Clinton administration- Rwandan genocide-and Madeline Albright can be attributed some blame. She was first the ambassador to UN and then secretary of state when Hutus and Tutsis ripped each other apart.
I thought that she had one interesting insight about modern world and role for American in the same. The role of being the ultimate referee and an indispensable nation. America first made itself indispensable in subtle ways after the 1st World War at the Leagues of Nations.....Then, in very explicit terms in the 2nd World War. It is anyone's guess what would have happened if America had decided not to jump into Europe's war. Since the fall of communism, America again played that role wonderfully well by first kicking out Iraq from Kuwait and then intervening in Kosovo.
The current administration confused this indispensability with the license to do whatever they want to around the world. Iraq war is the example which people quote...there are numerous other example...unilateral pullout from Kyoto negotiations, problems with Europe, the whole axis of evil rhetoric...the list just goes on. I have said it at some other places in this blog and I repeat it. America earned some tremendous goodwill since the end of the 2nd World War and this administration squandered it all in 6 years.
Despite the current reputation of America around the world, the world still needs America's power and its moral force. The problem is that US has lost the moral high ground to preach people around the world. One way to regain that high ground could be to divert American power to solve problems in Africa...and there are plenty of them there. I don't think anyone would have any problem if America sends troops to bring some order in some of the worst war zones in Africa. Darfur is a great example. And what America recently did in Somalia along with Ethiopia is an example of what can be achieved. The whole world needs this indispensable nation and has the right to get it back from the clutches of incompetence.
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