Captain America, its a lovely myth. However, the US has not been thrust into leadership, it did everything it could to undermine the leadership of the Soviet Union and some other countries so it could be economic top dog. It wields its force with favouritism and often blind partiality. Any responsibilties to the rest of the world run a very poor second to the primary consideration of getting what America wants. Don't fool yourself that American policy is any different now then it would have been when Machiavelli was writing "The Prince" about 400 years ago.

One thing that I have learned on Mudcat is that Americans can be wonderful people but that a lot of them are incredibly ignorant of what happens outside their borders. Its nice to believe that Americans are a force for good but don't blame the victims of your government agencies for not agreeing with you. To accuse them of trying to drag you down is like blaming the kids because their daddy hits them.