Will the US turn Isolationist?

The Chinese strategist, Sun Tzu, wrote 2,500 years ago: "Maintaining an army at a distance causes the people to be impoverished."

The rising cost in blood and treasure of President Bush's incursion into Iraq has generated among Americans a question rooted in Sun Tzu: Is the cost worth it? Increasing numbers of Americans, including scores of military leaders, seem to think not.

This billowing skepticism suggests a more profound question: Beyond Iraq, have Americans wearied of the burden of worldwide security commitments and deployment of forces that are more extensive than any since the Roman Empire? Are Americans ready to retract them?

In a word, are the Yankees on the verge of going home?

If so, the consequences for Asia alone can hardly be imagined. Would China revive the Middle Kingdom that once dominated East Asia? Would Japan return to the militarism of the 1940s? Would India seek to control South Asia? How would the middle powers — South Korea, Vietnam, Indonesia, Pakistan — ward off the big boys?

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A new study by the nonpartisan Pew Research Center, which is respected for accuracy and balance, suggests the Iraq war has "led to a revival of isolationist sentiment among the general public."

Pew researchers reported that 42 percent of Americans, the highest percentage in 45 years, say the United States should "mind its own business internationally and let other countries get along the best they can."

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If we fail in Iraq there is a high probability that the US will turn Isolationist and walk away from the rest of the world. This would be neither in the US, nor the world's best interest and could have calamitous repercussions around the world.