On May 20, I had the privilege of participating in a public debate sponsored by the Munk Debates in Toronto. My debate partner was John Mearsheimer, and our opponents were former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and former U.S. Undersecretary of State Victoria Nuland. The issue on the table was “Be It Resolved: Do Not Go Hunting Monsters.” As regular readers here might expect, John and I argued in support of the resolution.

You can watch the full debate by purchasing a livestream pass. For Foreign Policy readers interested in my opening and closing statements, what follows below are lightly edited versions of what I told the audience at the event.

On May 20, I had the privilege of participating in a public debate sponsored by the Munk Debates in Toronto. My debate partner was John Mearsheimer, and our opponents were former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and former U.S. Undersecretary of State Victoria Nuland. The issue on the table was “Be It Resolved: Do Not Go Hunting Monsters.” As regular readers here might expect, John and I argued in support of the resolution.

You can watch the full debate by purchasing a livestream pass. For Foreign Policy readers interested in my opening and closing statements, what follows below are lightly edited versions of what I told the audience at the event.

This is a debate between restrainers and crusaders. We all believe the United States should be actively engaged in the world and support a rules-based order. What we are debating is whether it should be a crusader state that tries to remake the world by overthrowing other governments. Our opponents say yes; we say no.

In our view, the United States should use its power to deter or defeat attacks on itself and to uphold the balance of power in critical and strategic regions. For example, it made good sense for the United States to enter World War II. Japan attacked the United States and Germany declared war, and both countries were great powers engaged in vast aggressive wars. During the Cold War, U.S. leaders were right to forge and lead an alliance to contain the Soviet Union. We also believe the George H.W. Bush administration was correct in leading........

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