In many ways, the world is a very different place today than it was two years ago. The Taliban and Saddam Hussein are no longer in power. Fears of international terrorism are pervasive; the possibility of an attack is considerably more real. There is heightened awareness of the dangers posed by weapons of mass destruction. In many ways, the world seems smaller; events in one corner seem to ripple farther, faster.
The United States is a very different country. Some of the most visible scars of Sept. 11, 2001, have healed, but the psychological wounds are deep and easily reopened. Americans and their government now have a keener sense of the suspicion, anger and hostility that America faces. Whether they appreciate the degree to which this is a response to U.S. behavior is another matter. Nonetheless, the new understanding of the gap between Americans' image of themselves and that held by much of the rest of the world is perhaps the most important change in the U.S. since Sept. 11.
That new understanding is reciprocal: Other nations now have a better appreciation of America's place in the world and the extraordinary gap that exists between its role and that of all other states. While the U.S. has been the sole superpower since the collapse of the Soviet Union over a decade ago, it has been reluctant to use that power. As a candidate, Mr. George W. Bush declared that he would end American arrogance and his administration would practice a more "humble" foreign policy. As president, Mr. Bush has overseen the unparalleled demonstration of U.S. strength and use of its military.