Anyone struggling to discern a coherent rationale behind our current foreign policy could do far worse than read this editorial today by Henry Nau.

Although I think Nau grants Bush too much credit -- I still get the sense Bush acts more off instinct than anything, and that that instinct simply tends to correspond to a certain school of thought -- Nau nonetheless does a fantastic job of explaining clearly and concisely a school of foreign policy which is notoriously difficult to articulate. Definitely read it if you get the chance.