To lead, U.S. must give up paranoid policies

Zbigniew Brzezinski IHT -- Since the tragedy of Sept. 11, which understandably shook and outraged every American, the United States has increasingly embraced, at the highest official level, what can be fairly called a paranoiac view of the world. This is summarized in a phrase repeatedly used at the highest level: "He who is not with us is against us."

Let's not forget this was a phrase popularized by Lenin when he attacked the social democrats on the grounds that they were anti-Bolshevik and, therefore, "he who is not with us is against us" and can be disposed of accordingly.

There are two troubling conditions that accompany this mindset.

First, making the "war on terrorism" the central preoccupation of the United States in the world today reflects a rather narrow and extremist vision of foreign policy of the world's primary superpower, of a great democracy, with genuinely idealistic traditions.

The second troubling condition, which contributes to the crisis of credibility and to the isolation in which the United States finds itself today, is the absence of a clear, sharply defined perception about what is actually happening abroad.