I am not very informed about the Eastern European issues that made Russia stand up to the U.S. and NATO, but I can safely say that the world with a single superpower has not been that safe. I don't know if George W. Bush would have made his adventure into Iraq had the Russians been a force to reckon with or not, but I am sure that the White House and Pentagon would have had to think much harder about it before getting themselves into the mess they have.