FOURTH TURNING ALERTS. David Janes argues, "This is all about 9/11. Everything is about 9/11. I think of lot of non-Americans are underestimating how _pissed_ the US about 9/11, and this has dictated a fundemental, long-term change in American foreign policy: the US will not attempt to "contain" other countries that may pose a threat to the US into the future, as it did with the USSR pre-Reagan, or it's 1990's policy toward the middle-east and near-Asia (the 'stans), and North Korea. In fact, the NK situation is exactly what the US is trying to avoid in the next 10 years in the middle east." Mark Steyn weighs in with "All the late 20th century arrangements--the European Union, NATO and most definitely the UN--are about to be remade." Perhaps so, but that might not be done quickly. The gold standard, the Treaty of Versailles, and the League of Nations were remade, but not in an afternoon. This Den Beste post suggests that there might be a misperception, not a breakdown.