Very sad article, very long and very true. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/27/magazine/27world-t.html?pagewanted=1&_r=2&ref=magazine Excerpt
I've read it yesterday, it's very interesting but it's not really surprising considering that the US has failed the world in it's role of the only superpower. Once the soviets were gone America started acting like a home-alone teenager
I'm not sure that there is a particularly better policy, but obviously this policy was failed from the beginning. It was only a matter of time, and of course, no one stays the Champion forever. What's troubling though is how far the fall could be. We're not talking about sharing the role, or coming down a notch, we're talking about dropping down to the 4th or 5th place, which will have massive repercussions.