“Concerns over transatlantic relations, American attitudes toward the United Nations Security Council, and the future of multilateralism stem from a single, overarching issue of the post–Cold War era: the issue of international legitimacy. When the United States wields its power, especially its military power, will world opinion and, more importantly its fellow liberal democracies, especially in Europe, regard its actions as broadly legitimate? Or will the United States appear, as it did to many during the crisis in Iraq, as a kind of rogue superpower?” — Robert Kagan, The Carnegie Endowment, Foreign Policy Ultimately a wimpy article, the main point is that the ‘legitimacy’ of our foreign policy will be judged by (drumroll) how things turn out on the ground (stability, democracy) in Iraq and the region. In the broadest terms, if the US is not invested in ‘legitimacy’, the points are moot. [Raise your hand if you think BushCo care about the stability and democracy of Iraq. I thought so.] There is no discussion of the consequences of pursuing rogue foreign policy in the modern world or how to enforce international accountability on a state like the US acting in illegitimate ways.