The Superpower Myth

As exhilarating as it is to have a front-row seat on history as a top adviser to the U.S. president, the downside of happens once you're gone is that a new world view takes over. Nancy Soderburg worked in the highest levels of the Clinton administration for eight years through the crises in Somalia and Haiti, the peace efforts in Ireland and the Middle East, the carnage of Rwanda, and the cooperation of Bosnia and Kosovo.

In her new book, "The Superpower Myth," she has a sharp critique of Bush's first-term embrace of what she calls the "superpower myth" — the idea that American military might can do whatever it wants wherever it chooses. But America may be on the verge of a second-term shift from enforcer to persuader once again, she points out.

Tune in for a conversation with Nancy Soderberg on "The Superpower Myth" and four more years of foreign policy from the Bush White House.

Guests:

Nancy Soderberg, senior foreign policy advisor to Bill Clinton. From 1997 to 2001, she was US ambassador to the United Nations. She is vice president at the International Crisis Group and author of the new book, "The Superpower Myth: The Use and Misuse of American Might.";

Peter Brookes, senior fellow for National Security Affairs and director of the Asian Studies Center, Brookings Institution.