In 1993, a botched intervention in Somalia seemed to put the US off such projects for good. Three years later, it sent more than 16,000 troops to Bosnia. The failure to avert mass killings there revived the trope of a halfhearted superpower. Three years later, it led the Nato bombing of Yugoslavia. The reluctance to commit ground forces there was final proof of an inward-turning nation. Four years later, it was occupying both Afghanistan and Iraq.
1993年出兵干預(yù)索馬里事務(wù)搞砸(當時美軍在摩加迪沙市區(qū)陷入與當?shù)孛癖南飸?zhàn),結(jié)果付出陣亡18人的代價——譯者注),似乎讓美國永遠放棄此類項目。三年后,美國向波斯尼亞派遣1.6萬多名軍人。未能阻止那里的大規(guī)模殺戮,重燃了有關(guān)一個“半心半意超級大國”的比喻。三年后,以美國為首的北約(NATO)轟炸南斯拉夫。不愿向那里投入地面部隊被視為一個內(nèi)向型國家的終極證據(jù)。四年后,美國出兵占領(lǐng)了阿富汗和伊拉克。