Our hasty retreat from Afghanistan with our trousers around our ankles obviously provokes editorial writers to examine the damage to American foreign policy and our reputation around the world. Are we still the America we thought we were? What are we going to do now? Robb describes Afghanistan as a "colossal failure." I beg to differ. Seeds have been sown. Ideas promulgated. Educations begun. There are small signs of new shoots. If the Taliban want legitimacy they are going to have to work for it or stagnate like Iran. Afghanistan is different to twenty years ago. The genie is out of the bottle. American economic muscle remains predominant worldwide. A society wanting to join the 21st century and give its citizens security and a reasonable standard of living needs Western technology and know how. The Russians could never have developed their oil and gas fields without American know how. China cannot feed itself. If you watched from your classroom as I did in Singapore, the awe inspiring sight of the American 7th fleet arrive at anchorage, you understand what Teddy Roosevelt meant when he said, "Speak softly but carry a big stick." $712 billion on defense is a bigger budget than everyone else's military budget put together. It's a very big stick. Missile and drone technology is transforming our ideas of warfare, asymmetric or otherwise and the world has changed. It's far more interconnected. The cell phone has transformed the lives and understanding of millions across all continents. If we wish to save our society every country will need to work together. Neither the effects of global warming nor the rise of pandemics care about national boundaries. Mankind's survival will depend on our ability to co-operate. Change is coming whether we like it or not. The US has the resources and knowledge as well the scientists and a tertiary education system which will put us at the forefront.