In Case I'm Unclear

I totally agree with this premise from Fareed Zakaria:

The problem with American foreign policy goes beyond George Bush. It includes a Washington establishment that has gotten comfortable with the exercise of American hegemony and treats compromise as treason and negotiations as appeasement. Other countries can have no legitimate interests of their own. The only way to deal with them is by issuing a series of maximalist demands. This is not foreign policy; it's imperial policy. And it isn't likely to work in today's world.

Surely within the establishment there is an impulse to exercise American power - but this is an impulse that needs - in general - to be restrained and used only in crucial moments. Consistently erring on the Maximalist side is incredibly stupid business. There are times when that power will be needed. I think post 9/11 was one of those moments.

But knowing the FP establishment has problems is not the same as subscribing to loopy-doopy liberal ideas such as humanitarian interventions (only) and the accession of influence to aggressive states around the world.