ABSTRACT
America's assumption of the imperial role after World War II—with US power and influence projected around the world—was never popular either within America's intellectual class or more recently within its mass media. The increased vulnerability of American society to a Soviet strategic attack, however, gave rise to the publicly compelling view that the condition of mutual assured destruction had become the basis for reciprocal deterrence. The American global role has also been undergoing a profound transmutation. America's capacity to cope on both the strategic and the geopolitical planes will depend ultimately on America's overall global position. The economic basis of American primacy is clearly much weaker and is likely to become weaker still in relation to the growth of other economic centers. The consequence was that the region's troubles have become America's burden: America is to prevent the Soviet Union from dominating the Persian Gulf region and also to preserve Israel's security.
