<p>How did the United States go from victory in the Cold War and an economic boom to the brink of collapse? A decade of political rhetoric denying any useful role for government was a factor. </p>
On the evening of November 9, 1989, thousands of East Germans including a 35-year-old chemist named Angela Merkel peacefully crossed into West Berlin amid chaos and the confusion at the Berlin Wall.
From the fall of the Berlin Wall to 9/11, we had relative peace and prosperity. It was an opportunity to salve some festering national wounds. We squandered it completely and helped give rise to the crises we’re dealing with today.
Middle-East Arab News and Opinion - Asharq Al-Awsat is the world’s premier pan-Arab daily newspaper, printed simultaneously each day on four continents in 14 cities