To Rebuild the Image

Needed: a consistent foreign policy—and muscle When Americans look abroad they tend to see enemy territory. When they look ahead, they tend to see bad times and bad situations getting worse. The confidence and optimism that marked America a generation ago have given way to anger and apprehension often bordering on fear. In short, one of the most serious problems affecting U.S. foreign and defense policy these days is the national mood.

To some extent, the anxiety is understandable and justified.

America's potential enemies—most significantly the Soviet Union—are stronger and bolder than ever before. America's friendships, meanwhile, are increasingly...