others, says Wildavsky. It is the natural reaction of "a satisfied superpower happy to hold on and un-
willing to act except when provoked." The United States acts like a defensive power because it is a defensive power.

~~ Except for supplanting Soviet influ-
ence in Egypt after the 1973 Arab-
Richard M. Niron Israeli war, Nixon took no actions that put the United States in a stronger position than it was before.
Can defensiveness provide a sound defense? Not in the long run, W...