Cowboy mentaility? I'd like Punta Chavez to explain wich Spanish speaking country has ever succesfully defended its self from us "Cowboys". Cuba don't count.
Chavez may have a point, though...our "cowboy" Presidents haven't done very well preventing natural disasters: Teddy Roosevelt failed to prevent the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, Reagan failed to prevent Hurricane Gilbert in 1985, and GWB utterly failed to deflect Katrina from hitting the U.S.
If Kerry had won, Katrina would have hit the U.S., after it didn't...