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Article: Why Are We in Iraq? A Realpolitik Perspective.
- Article from:
- World Policy Journal
- Article date:
- September 22, 2007
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2007 World Policy Institute. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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In 1917, Woodrow Wilson told the United States Senate that "American principles are the principles of mankind and they must prevail." Democracy was a moral template to be imposed on a diverse and heterogeneous world. Its inevitable triumph was the answer to humanity's ills. This was a grand vision, extraordinary in its scope, an inspiration to millions of people around the world, and Wilson succeeded in creating what would become the moral foundation for the nation's foreign policy ever since. Every American president after him has felt his impress, none more so than George W. Bush. In many of the president's recent speeches, one hears Wilson's 90-year-old voice.
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