In the last decades of the twentieth century and the first of the twenty-first, a number of forces increased diversity within the United States and connections with the rest of the world. Among these were a renewed wave of immigration and the Internet explosion. Global communication systems and economic interdependence boomed. Politically, the Clinton administration sparred constantly with its Republican foes amidst an economy of robust vitality and worldwide expansion. The September 11^th attacks revealed just how interconnected the United States had become with the rest of the world; in the aftermath of these events, the nation of nations remained uncertain to what degree it could succeed as a policeman in an uncertain world.