I agree. One the main causes of our misguided foreign policy over the last 20 years has been failure to recalibrate after the cold war ended.
I think US policies during the CW were justified to fight communism.
But, our leaders should have leveled with the American people and told the truth — that many of the people we supported during the cold war were scum and that many of the people we fought were mainly just patriots who wanted independence from foreign domination.
We still have these absurd alliances with countries like Pakistan and Saudi Arabia dragging us down.
Exactly. Methods need to change as the world and our adversaries change while minimizing power vacuums.