American foreign policy entered a perilous new era on September 11,
2 001, when Islamic terrorists struck at the nation’s heart and unleashed a new spiral of violence whose out come remains far from certain. The attacks on the World Trade Center and the pentagon were only the latest, but by far the deadliest, staged by al Qaeda, a terrorist group that sought nothing less than the downfall of Western civilization and the United State in particular. President George W. Bush immediately declared war not only against al Qaeda, but also against terrorism in general and all foreign governments that provided “aid and comfort” to terrorists. Bush first set sights on Afghanistan, the home base of al Qaeda; his administration’s focused wrath then shifted to Iraq and it’s leader, Saddam Hussein. The other members of Bush’s “axis of evil”- Iran and North Korea- also came to feel the heat of the American counteroffensive.  But how had the United States arrive at this point?! This paper will examine America’s foreign policy in the course of time and it’s shifting from the Founders traditional legacy; through a whole different interpretation of that legacy which brought to the isolation agenda; and yet another twist in the foreign approach- bringing the U.S. to it’s current state in its position towards foreign relations. The extreme changes throughout the years of the curve are an interesting historical case study, which will also be examined through the philosophical framework of John Locke and his influence on shaping the policy. I will then conclude the main points in this assay.