After Iraq War, Resist the Isolationist Impulse

[This isn't a China-related post, but I'll put it on the blog nonetheless]

No matter how the war ends, the United States must stay engaged in the world.   

New York - Sometime, somehow, the Iraq war will end. The surge may stabilize the country sufficiently to allow the withdrawal of American troops (less likely). Or the American public may simply sicken of the war to such an extent that US forces are pulled out regardless of the consequences after the 2008 presidential election (more likely). Either way, the end of the war will be the starting bell for a much more sweeping battle over the future of American foreign policy.

The question? Quite simply, What role should the United States play in the world?

[The full version of the op-ed appears in the June 19 edition of the Christian Science Monitor]