The lesson of September 11, 2001 was that to be invincible is not to be invulnerable; the moral to be drawn from the quagmire of Iraq is that the ability to conquer does not confer the capacity to control. If post-Bush America is to reclaim global leadership, it must better understand the limits of its power.

The US remains the world's sole superpower, the one nation with the capacity to intervene almost anywhere, at almost any time. It is stronger in every dimension - military, economic, political, cultural - than any potential adversary. Separate out the animus towards the persona and policies of George W. Bush and the US is also still quite liked. Odd though it seems, most Iranians declare themselves pro-American.