Quote Originally Posted by Bill Moore View Post
Yes we're a global power and a global cop, a role that many countries welcome. While Colin Gray a leading UK strategist believes our role as a global cop is indispensable
Global power, yes. Global cop, I don't think so, though it would depend on how you define "cop". To me the "cop" construct suggests that we act to enforce laws or norms that are apart from our own interests, and that we do not do. We act on our own perception of our own interest at any given time, not to enforce some external law or concept of rightness. That is of course normal, but it is not compatible with the role of "cop".

Quote Originally Posted by Bill Moore View Post
The majority of people in the world live in ignorance willingly on what threatens their interests.
I'm not so sure of that. Their perception of interests and threats may diverge from ours, but that doesn't make them ignorant.

Quote Originally Posted by Bill Moore View Post
Frankly we have a weak administration that doesn't understand the way the world works, and much like LBJ finds the world a distraction from the work the administration would prefer to do on the home front. After the next Presidential election we'll see if our relative power increases, flat lines, or continues the downward trend. I think the downward trend is temporary, but like the rest of us I don't own a crystal ball so we'll just have to wait and see.
That I suspect is an exaggeration. The current administration took office saddled with expensive and unpopular legacy wars that had little or no chance of really favorable resolution. It's been restricted by an electorate that has close to zero appetite for overseas adventurism. Any understanding of "how the world works" has to be balanced by a realistic appreciation of how domestic politics work.

In the long term the fate of American power relative to other nations will depend less on foreign policy decisions than on America's ability or inability to get domestic and economic policy back on track. Global political influence and military strength rest on economic strength and cannot be sustained or increased if economic strength fades.