Every country in the world has a role to play in terms of international action. In fact, most countries expend a great deal of effort trying to climb up the international power ladder, or at the very least, ensure they do not fall down a rung. As fortunate as we are to be at the top, we have responsibilities that come along with our eminence.

When an international crisis unfolds, the world doesn’t turn to Montenegro or Yemen to solve the problem. They turn to America. And this is much more preferable than states such as Russia or China taking the lead role in international affairs.

Some people may argue that it is better to be isolationist. Such views are ignorant and outdated. The world today is globalized; meaning seemingly insignificant events in central Asia can quickly have a domino effect on the rest of the world. America is long past the point of being able to separate ourselves from this intertwined system.

It is simply impossible to ignore things out in the world and focus only on our interior. The world will always find us, and ignoring a problem in a foreign country only means that we have a better chance of it burning us down the road.

Thus, America must take the initiative and the opportunity to remove a threat when it is recognized as such by the international community.

This is not an avocation for America becoming a globalized police force that enforces the international laws as it sees fit. However, when a person rises to power and commits genocide and crimes against humanity, it falls on our shoulders to attempt to remove them from power. When the majority of the world populace condemns the actions of an individual as war crimes, it is absolutely necessary that if America can help, we must.

The removal of people like Saddam Hussein, Osama Bin Laden or Nazi war criminals is unquestionably a good thing for the world. And while it is not always possible to take these people alive and put them on trial, that should usually be our goal.

This would be invaluable to our image throughout the world, something that America could always stand to improve. Furthermore, we would certainly be protecting ourselves down the road from potential harm, not a bad side benefit. It is not mistake to believe many ruthless dictators would want to harm the USA. If you want to be the best, you have to beat the best. And since we know countries continually wish to move up the power ladder, the best way for them to do that in their view is a strike at these United States.

It is no mystery that America holds a lot of sway in the international community, and being a leader means a lot of people will take shots at you when they can. Thus, it is imperative that we take action against horrible people as soon as the world demands or we risk great harm to our nation both through bloodshed and moral high ground.

Res Stecker is a senior international studies and history double major, and is happy to write witty whimsical words of wisdom for all. Questions and comments can be sent to letters@collegian.com