'Arrogant' U.S. Comes Under Fire at Forum

A symposium with former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl as a guest of honor was supposed to assess Russia and Germany's place in a post-Sept. 11 world.

But participants quickly realized that they could not define the roles without first figuring out where the United States fits in -- and the discussion, amid talk of the "arrogance of power," turned into a heated debate over whether Washington was acting as a global police officer.

"I'm afraid that the U.S. will launch a unilateral attack on Iraq and that its action will be imperfect and a war will start," said Sergei Karaganov, head of the Council of Foreign and Defense Policy.

"The United States, whether we like it or not, is the world's policeman," he said, adding, "It's worse than having no policeman at all."