Is America Weak Internationally?

Is America "weak" internationally?

A friend thinks so.

But I beg to differ.

It goes something like this: America is surely one of the greatest powers in the world today - economically, politically, culturally and militarily. 

That said, it must also be noted: We're not the only power. 

China, the EU, Russia, India and a host of other nations and alliances have their own power and constantly seek their place in the sun as America does. 

While American military moves around the world demonstrate a great deal of power, it's not absolute. No nation posses absolute power, and to suggest that limits on American power is an expression of weakness misconstrues reality. 

Not sure what my friend would want, but I suspect it might be an unrestrained hand militarily … constantly punishing those who would harm us, or threaten us or stand in our way when it comes to national interests.

No nation has ever achieved absolute world dominance, and woe to those who have tried - history makes it clear that such dominance cannot long survive. 

So, while America is incredibly strong and can impress its will upon much of the world, ours is not an absolute strength, and when challenged, we can only, and it's a good thing, enter into negotiations. To some, I know, this appears weak. But in reality, it's the only reality we can ever know. In one way or the other, we have to get along with our neighbors, even those neighbors whom we might love to eliminate.