The Council on Foreign Relations sponsored Task Force concluded that only a new course of differentiated containment in the Middle East will provide the United States with a sustainable policy and achieve the long-term goals of ensuring the security of its allies and protecting the flow of oil.

America's status as a world power remains at a historic turning point. The strategies employed to win the wars of the twentieth century are no longer working, and the US must contend with the changing nature of power in a globalized world.

In America and the World, two of the most respected figures in American foreign policy, Zbigniew Brzezinski and Brent Scowcroft, dissect the challenges facing the US today: the Middle East, Russia, and China, among others. In spontaneous conversations the two authors explore their agreements and disagreements. Defining the center of responsible...