I don't mean literally fence people off, nor do I mean cut them off from aid and interaction with the globe. I mean to protect them from overt coercive influences (internal, as well as external) while refraining from forcing western religion and politics onto them.

The U.S. did pretty well in the Middle East once we established that we wouldn't stand for getting pushed around, and we focused on commerce rather than colonialism; and accepted constraints on our missionaries as well to that of indirect influence through hospitals and schools rather than overt efforts to convert the locals. Much like China today, we did not overly constrain our commercial efforts with moral positions; nor did we overly burden our commercial efforts with the maintenance of colonial political structures and controls.

Post WWII we slid into the colonial role with its burdens, took the constraints off our religious outreach, and off of our impulse to exert moralistic pressures as well. As friction builds against that; the Chinese and others slide in underneath, much as we did, and build their own influence and economies in the process while we struggle to sustain the unsustainable, like the Euros before us.

We justified our actions in the name of the Cold War, but were encouraged by economic interests in the Oil industry, as well as religious interests in backing Israel to the degree we do. The Cold War became more a cover for action than the true driver of our policies in the region; and borne out by no perceived deviation in our policies there even though the Cold War is 20 odd years behind us. As Ike said, the real strength of the Containment strategy was how it worked to constrain ourselves. We have grown increasing unconstrained in our own behavior, but still work at least as hard as before to constrain the behavior of others. It is a trend in policy that is wearing thin with allies and opponents alike.

No, I mean more a commitment to protect. Not to protect a particular government, but rather to protect the populaces within particular regions from internal and external abuses of government without overly skewing that support by our own biases and interests. This is the future for intervention whether we like it or not. Empowered populaces and non-state actors will continue to punish states who overstep the boundaries of such relationships to exert their own will over that of the populace there.

This is new territory for the U.S.; and even though many an empire has gone down this path before us, it is in a new "globalized" environment of rapid travel and communications that we follow. History provides a general guide, but much we will need to plot out for ourselves.

Listening to the wisdom of Washington regarding foreign entanglements; and Ike regarding the importance of "self-containment" are good starts for mapping that course.