In the past, a blow to the international system's strongest power would have been welcomed by its rivals. In the wake of September 11, however, every significant government in the world declared its support for the United States.

While analogies are useful, however, they can also be misleading. They smuggle in assumptions that can be wrong.

After all, the past is our only real guide to the future, and historical analogies are instruments for distilling and organizing the past and converting it to a map by which we can navigate.

Michael Mandelbaum Quotes