William Kristol sets out some minimum standards to which to hold US foreign policy...
no rewards for gross acts of dictatorial oppression; no blind eye to facilitation of terrorism; no benign neglect for nuclear proliferation; no free passes for aiders and abettors of tyrants.He goes on to ask whether the US is meeting those standards and says, 'Not as much as we should be, and not as much as we could be.' Read on for why.
It occurs to me that though states are states and being so makes them different in key respects from individuals, movements, newspapers and just loose bodies of opinion, there are others who could usefully be asking if they're meeting the same standards. (Thanks: JW.)