Money and lives cut short tell the tale of US foreign policy folly. Since the advent of the Carter Doctrine in 1980, the United States has expended huge amounts of blood and treasure in vainly attempting to determine the course of events across the Greater Middle East. Resting on the assumption that the application of American hard power fosters order and stability, that effort continues today, with no end in sight. But little evidence exists to suggest that US exertions, whether aimed at liberating, transforming, or dominating the Islamic world, are achieving success.