One last point. To believe in a liberal world order means to believe in the rule of law and that includes treaties to which we are a signatory. By their very nature treaties limit a country’s freedom of action.
We cannot coherently do whatever we care to whenever we care to do it in violation of our treaty obligations, condemn Russia for doing the same thing, and claim to believe in a liberal world order. IMO that is the belief that the United States has special privileges. That is not just American exceptionalism it is what’s called “Americanism” and I think it is ruining the liberal world order our fathers and grandfathers bled to establish.
I agree with this and your previous post with the caveat that the UN in general and the Security Council in particular have become a joke. However, we should have been working to reform the institution and the security architecture rather than using it when we see fit and ignoring it when it doesn’t suit us.
CStanley, a succinct, accurate appraisal of the UN and Security Council.