SPINNING A TRUISM
It has become almost a truism by now that America ranks in polls (specifically, European polls) as the greatest threat to peace (with al-Qaeda as a rival, depending on how the question is asked).  But stop a minute.  Think about it.  This is actually a good thing.

First, that we're feared shows that we're powerful.  But a lot of readers may not be convinced by this.  Shouldn't we want to be strong but also just?  Shouldn't we want to be respected and loved, seen as the defenders of peace? 

If so, the other reason to welcome such polls may be more persuasive.  The flip side of us being the greatest threat to peace is that there are no perceived threats worse than America.  Now that is a good thing.  The Soviet Union is vanquished, North Korea is caged, Saddam is vanquished, the world wars are a distant memory, one after another the evil empires have fallen, until we are the greatest threat to peace.  We're not much of a threat, as the Europeans tacitly admit by reducing their defense budgets ever further.  That we're ranked as the greatest threat to peace just emphasizes how securely peaceful the world really is.  At least in Europe.