They probably couldn't have done anything to Russia, but they could have quashed Latin America really good if they'd been half as competent as their predecessors a generation ago (and hadn't been obsessing over the Arab Peninsula and immediate environs).

China remains a case of a massive misalignment between the interests of the US and the interests of the people running the US. Which is the overall theme of the neocons: they only look like failures if you start from the assumption that they were trying to tend to the best interests of the US. If you start from the assumption that they were looking out for the best short-term interests of themselves and their cronies, and really don't give a rat's ass about the US, then they've been a magnificent success. Which is no doubt why our own European elites are so anxious to ape their accomplishments.

- Jake

If you only spend 20 minutes of the rest of your life on economics, go spend them here.