In terms of U.S foreign policy, what to do about "failed states" -- or whatever we decide to call them -- might turn out to be to 21st century foreign policy as Containment of communism was to the 20th. Should other terrorist strikes on U.S. or European soil be mounted from any of these places a quick retaliatory strike disproportionate enough to send an emphatic message could be a more desirable policy option than years of having troops on the ground conducting COIN operations. A few weeks ago the Washington Post reported that a new kind of high-explosive technology every bit as destructive as nukes is being developed, and for some decades the U.S. would be the sole possessor of the weapon.