The Case For Restraint

Niall Ferguson dissects Barry Posen's big-think essay on reimagining American foreign policy after Iraq:

Posen has proceeded from relatively familiar premises (the limits of American “hyperpower”) to some quite fantastic policy recommendations, which are perhaps best summed up as a cross between isolationism and humanitarianism. Only slightly less fantastic than his vision of an American military retreat from the Middle East, Europe and East Asia is Posen’s notion that it could be sold to the American electoratejust six years after they were the targets of the single largest terrorist attack in historyin the language of self-effacement. Coming from a man who wants to restart mainstream debate on American grand strategy, that is pretty rich.

Fukuyama is more impressed. It's a rich series of points and counterpoints.