Really? We tried that for a decade under Bush 41, Clintoon, and the UN. Not a rousing success, obviously.
After 9/11 all bets were off and if I had to wager a guess, I don’t think that the gipper would have agreed with your analysis. Superpower with nukes=containment. Little tin-pot dictator=glass parking lot.
George Will and Donald trump don’t agree on much. But they both call the invasion of Iraq a piece of monumental stupidity. The mess we created there - a mess that’s still biting us in the butt - makes it hard to argue with them. Unless you’re a bushbot impervious to reality