Eye on the Prize

Fareed Zakaria makes a key point:

It also means concentrating on the centers of global power, not the periphery. Throughout history great nations have lost their way by getting bogged down in imperial missions far from home that crippled their will, strength, and focus. (Even when they won: Britain prevailed in the Boer War, but it broke the back of the empire.) It's important to remember that in the coming century it will be America's dominant position in Asia—its role as the balancer in the Pacific—that will be pivotal to its role as a global superpower, not whatever happens in the mountains of Afghanistan.

This is very true, but as Iran proceeds toward nuclear weapons there will be numerous voices telling us how vital it is to focus on the Middle East, and use American power to contain a potentially hegemonic Iran. This would be a mistake - our 60 year history of trying to do this with the Saudis and later the Israelis have brought us a considerable amount of grief, particularly since the collapse of the Soviet Union and the rise of transnational terrorism. But with a fragile world economy coming out of a deep recession, any movement of oil prices is likely to figure front and center in the mind of politicians - long term considerations be damned.

(AP Photos)