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September
11 and the Concept of Superpower
Perica Vucinic
Belgrade
Oct. 4, 2001
After Sept. 11, 2001, we'll need to define the concept of "superpower."
There can be no doubt that the United States is the only country
that can justly be called "a superpower." There is
little doubt that will change. It remains the only country that
can militarily defeat any other country in the world. Nevertheless,
it is clear that the United States is not the superpower it
was on Sept. 10, 2001.
The world is in shock. First came the shock of the number of
victims of an insane attack on the World Trade Center in New
York and on the Pentagon in Washington. Then came the shock
of a new awareness of a crack in the world's pyramid of power.
Clearly, Washington views a military response as a necessary
outcome of Sept. 11's events. A counterstrike would reaffirm
the might of U.S. weaponry for anyone who harbored doubts. In
his preparations for war, President Bush has really been lucky.
Like Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic two years earlier,
the Taliban has irresponsibly been irritating more and more
governments across the world, giving strength to Bush's professed
reason for beginning a war in Afghanistan. That's how the exchange
of targets—Afghanistan in place of Bin Laden—becomes
convincingly legitimate. Furthermore, the number of countries
affected has helped bolster international support for a military
response. And so blind revenge gains legitimacy as a struggle
against terrorism. It's clear that we're going to have a war,
if we don't already.
I suppose that for the United States, this is a struggle to
buy time, to forestall the reconsideration of its role as a
superpower.
The current situation stands in stark contrast to the two previous
U.S. military interventions, in Yugoslavia and Iraq, when after
being in a leading role each time, the United States emerged
a more visible leader and seemed superior in relation to its
allies. U.S. allies—more numerous than ever since World
War II—will not permit the United States to stand alone
at the top of the pyramid of power.
Until now, U.S. allies were only allowed to tag along in U.S.-led
wars. Now the United States is calling on them to participate
fully. The Sept. 11 terrorist attacks showed that the United
States is vulnerable. This fact, though temporarily forgotten
amidst the ever-stronger beating of war drums, is of immeasurable
importance. The United States is still a superpower. But just
what that means will need to be redefined.
Though the United States is still the strongest military power
in the world, the horrific attacks showed that it is as vulnerable
as any other country. And the vast majority of the world recognized
this grim fact and responded with a show of solidarity. To conclude
that the horrific attacks of Sept. 11 left America a devalued
superpower is to obscure the full spectrum of civilized values—superpower
status is defined not only by military might. The United States
will likely use its superpower strength for the good of the
world, not just for its own interests. In this effort, the country
will be called upon to develop its tremendous democratic, cultural,
technological, and human potentials. But force needs to be applied
appropriately and judiciously.
The author is editor of Belgrade's Reporter (independent),
and is World Press Review's 2001 International Editor
of the Year. 
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