by Stanley R. Sloan

About the author: Stanley R. Sloan is senior specialist in international security policy for the Congressional Research Service.

During the cold war, the United States provided leadership and key military capabilities to deter an attack by the Soviet-led Warsaw pact. Today, the United States seems to be emerging as a self-deterred power—a country preventing itself from using force. This leaves the international system without the political credibility and military force needed to discourage aggressors.

The first victims of self-deterrence may be in obscure places like Gorazde, Bosnia. The long-term consequences, however, may strike at the heart of US interests and the hope for a stable world.

The Mood of the American Public

One could lay sole responsibility for this phenomenon on the Clinton administration. But self-deterrence...