Sometimes the defenders of freedom must show patience as well as resolution. But that patience comes of confidence, not compromise . The vacuum left by America's retreat would invite challenges to our power. And the result, in the long run, would be a stagnant America and a savage world. America's second temptation is drift - for our nation to move from crisis to crisis like a cork in a current.
American policy can become random and reactive - untethered to the interests of our country.
America must be involved in the world. But that does not mean our military is the answer to every difficult foreign policy situation - a substitute for strategy. American internationalism should not mean action without vision, activity without priority, and missions without end - an approach that squanders American will and drains American energy. American foreign policy must be more than the management of crisis. This is accomplished by concentrating on enduring national interests.