Word: exceptionalist
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...America's historical uniqueness can suggest that the U.S. has special global obligations and privileges. Exceptionalism can be a dangerous faith because of how much it can extenuate and excuse. Gates is not a philosopher, and it is hard to know what he means by his profession of the exceptionalist faith. It may be just a fancy way of expressing the more prosaic pursuit of a great power's long-term strategic goals: the Cold War, the long war on terrorism, the escalation in Afghanistan...
...Gates thought for a moment. Even his chief of staff, Robert Rangel, the most influential unknown man in Washington, seemed curious to see what the boss would say. "If there's a consistency, it is my belief that the country is - I am very much an American exceptionalist" - he paused - "and I believe that we are, as a country, the greatest force for good in the history of the world...
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