Considering the status of the United States as the strongest superpower in history, it is indeed a greater threat to world peace than Iran.

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While America fought lost wars, The Bear was awakened! Moving from a unipolar world to a multipolar one provides needed balance, but also might precipitate a new kind of Cold War over oil and gas. Russia is using energy as its means of regaining international prestige.

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At a dinner hosted by a prestigious center affiliated with a British university, concluding a one-day conference on the Arab World, a former U.S. official complained about how Washington has failed to get its message of good will to the Arab people. He seemed to be trying to reach out to the representatives of the Arab media taking part on the conference, seeking either advice or empathy for his administration's quest that has been met, in his view, "with misunderstanding."

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America is a modern Rome: an arrogant empire that does not understand the limits of power. I guess no empire really does. This is why they rise and fall. It is not an American trait; it is the nature of unchecked power. Yet in his book, Murphy tries to construct a moral ethos for American hegemony and aggressive drive to dominate the world. Unfortunately the basic premise of his argument goes against history.

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The Current Discussion:What's the biggest mistake Barack Obama could make in his first six months in foreign policy?

The inauguration of Barack Obama, the first African-American President, is itself an inspiration of hope for a better world. It has sent a message of goodwill even to the most skeptical spectators around the globe. But he can easily shatter people's glimmer of hope if he does not really and truly break away from an American foreign policy of ruthless hegemony imposed by ruthless military force.

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The U.S. decision to lift travel restrictions on Cuba is a welcome step. But it does not go far enough.

It is high time to get rid of one of the last legacies of the cold era. It is time to go all the way and lift the embargo on Cuba. The embargo is not only a form of collective punishment against the Cuban people, but is remnant of the imperious notion that the U.S.-led world capitalist economy is better or the only way to progress and prosperity. The global recession, and the collapse of many institutions in the U.S. and beyond, have made the claim of the ultimate and irreversible victory of capitalism both outdated and ridiculous.

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The U.S. decision to lift travel restrictions on Cuba is a welcome step. But it does not go far enough. It is high time to get rid of one of the last legacies of the Cold War era. It is time to go all the way and lift the Cuban embargo.

The embargo is not only a form of collective punishment against the Cuban people, it is a remnant of the imperious notion that the U.S.-led world capitalist economy is the only way to progress and prosperity. The global recession, and the collapse of many institutions in the U.S. and beyond, have made laughable the claim that capitalism is destined for an ultimate and irreversible victory. The previous administration got drunk on that idea, and it dragged America and the world into what seems to be a bottomless economic crisis. In other words, the ideological basis for the embargo no longer holds. The embargo neither brought about regime change nor consolidated the victory of a world capitalist view.

Obama tries to project a humane world view that respects other nations paths and their individual struggles for change and development. This vision will lack credibility as long as America continues its self-entitlement to punish other nations who do not adhere to its world view. Washington has to learn how to be humble; it should start by being humbled by its own economic crisis.

Lifting the embargo on Cuba is one step toward a better international atmosphere. It's time to boost collaboration with -- and not subjugation of -- other nations.