It takes a pretty big shock to the system to transform the way the United States engages the world. A spate of German submarine attacks on American merchant ships was the final trigger for American entry into World War I. Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor brought America into World War II. The attacks on September 11 led the United States to invade Afghanistan and then Iraq.More relevant to the current moment was the Soviet launch on October 4, 1957, of Sputnik 1, the first man-made satellite to orbit the earth. The Soviet Union’s leap ahead in the space race—followed in …read more
Source: The American Interest
