American National Interest after September 11?

What is the 'national interest' of the United States in the post-September 11th world community? It is not simply difficult to determine the correct, concrete policy to achieve this goal in an international community filled with the fear of terrorism and political uncertainty. It is also difficult to simply define what constitutes 'a national interest,' where there are so many competing theories regarding how to define a nation's national interest in theories of international politics. For example, a realist perspective of international politics would suggest that after the attacks on the World Trade Center, the United States as a nation should rationally determine that its enemy, Al Qaeda must be eliminated, and go about seeking out the organization in Afghanistan in a highly systematized fashion, given that the terrorist cell possessed less armament capacity than the United States. If only the United States' intelligence-gather...
[ View Full Essay]