The Rise of the Enlightenment in American Interventions in Different Societies

We are still struggling with devising tactics and even strategy for a new kind of warfare. However, going to other countries and trying to give them the same elements of democracy and the rule of law that the Americans enjoy is one of the great motivators behind the interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan. It may even be a mistake to try to apply the universalist ideas of the enlightenment to societies that are so different in culture and history. Whether it's a mistake or not, it certainly has been a motivation for American interventions in these societies.