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WASHINGTON – When the Communists won control of China in 1949, critics said that U.S. President Harry Truman had “lost” China. Their argument was this: Had the United States more strongly supported the Nationalists, China would have remained aligned to the West.

And so was born the loss of China, which has come to mean any ally who has slipped from the U.S. sphere of influence into another, such as Vietnam’s subsequent fall to the Communists.

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There is a lot of loss and longing in Washington these days; finding things to lament is a growth industry. Sentimentalists mourn the loss of decorum and dignity in the White House; the loss of liberal Republicans and conservative Democrats in Congress; the loss of manners and modesty in society.

One of the loudest laments this spring is the loss of America’s stature in the world. It has been a bad run for liberal internationalists – those soft-heartened naïfs who believe in free trade, collective security, democracy and human rights, the rule of law, multilateral institutions and environmental responsibility.