After the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the administration of then-U.S. President George W. Bush judged that the international extremist group al-Qaida was responsible and decided to topple Afghanistan's Taliban regime for harboring it. In 2003, it also brought down Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's government, which had no connection to al-Qaida, and led efforts to build new states in both countries. Behind the moves was the profound over-confidence of the United States as the only superpower; it continues to impact the global turmoil today.U.S.-led nation-building in Afghanistan and Iraq failed…READ FULL ARTICLE
