Zbigniew Brzezinski , Jimmy Carter’s National Security Advisor, writes a lengthy op-ed in the International Herald Tribune (originally given as a talk to a group of Democrats) outlining what he thinks the problem is with American foreign policy. The day’s been long, and I think I would rather read into Lincoln some more rather than respond at length to Zbig, but I will say this: The shape of the Democratic foreign policy mode is beginning to take shape. It goes something like this: The Republicans are articulating a "paranoiac view of the world." They are not interested in making friends, they would rather make war on anyone for the flimsiest reasons; they are overthrowing old alliances; they are only interested in making war on terrorism (which he finds hard to define and understand); this is an extremist vision of the United States, and we are, so this view goes, apparently interested in overthrowing our idealistic traditions. Oh yeah, and one more thing: we don’t understand what is going on abroad. O.K., I’m beginning to get it. Does this begin to sound familiar, this disposition? Look up some of the stories from the late 1970’s, with Carter’s so called human rights policy in full throttle, our inordinate fear of Communism, etc., and see how it compares. At least back then, it could be argues, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan may have had an effect on Carter. Did 9/11 have any effect on the Democrats?