It should have been apparent, on an a priori basis alone, that overthrowing foreign government we don't happen to like is not to be considered as just another foreign policy option, even for a superpower. And it should have been apparent that punishment for the sake of punishment doesn't do anyone any good, beyond registering our dislikes. When we take into account the actual record of results from the different approaches that have been taken toward regimes we choose to call rogue, these conclusions should be all the more obvious.

Paul R. Pillar is a contributing editor at the National Interest and the author most recently of Why America Misunderstands the World.

Image: Muammar el-Qaddafi attends the African Union Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, February 2, 2009. Wikimedia Commons/U.S. Navy