flashback

It was the opening salvo of a campaign to press forward a post-Cold War foreign policy of 'Pax Americana,' a world that the neo-conservatives who made up the bulk of the 25 people who signed PNAC’s statement of principles the previous June saw as a US dominion.

The ceremony had gone smoothly. Ronald Reagan was given a crystal statue. His audience responded with warm applause. Then an obscure activist approached the lectern. What happened next is a modern parable of how we grant authority - and to whom.