The American empire will not disappear... because America does not have an empire.

Let me remind you all that the first task of American foreign policy is to reduce threats to the United States.

The values, the programs, the formula, the determination, and the patriotism responsible for America's past success are still here to be tapped.

The main division in the world is between democratic and undemocratic countries.

Certainly, protecting oppressed people, stopping ethnic conflict and promoting responsible governance are worthy goals. But none is as important for American security and prosperity as keeping the peace in the Middle East, Europe and East Asia.

Societies raise their grandest monuments to what their cultures value most highly. As the tallest buildings in a city noted for tall buildings, the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center were certainly monumental.

To call the American role in the world imperial was, for many who did so, a way of asserting that the United States was misusing its power beyond its borders and, in so doing, subverting its founding political principles within them.