A Hobbesian America?

I've just started reading Jonathan Wolff's An Introduction to Political Philosophy, having found the Adam Swift book a great introduction of the theory. Wolff's book seems to take a more historical approach, and his early description of Hobbes' view of (the impossibility of) morality in the state of nature reminded me a bit of the administration's current foreign policy:

We would find it hard to disagree that people in the state of nature have the right to defend themselves. That said, it also seems evident that individuals must decide for themselves what reasonably counts as a threat to them, and further, what is the most appropriate action to take in the face of such a threat. No one, it would seem, could reasonably be criticized for any action they take to defend themselves. As pre-emption is a form of defence, invading others can often be seen as the most rational form of self-protection.

Of course this is not really a defense of pre-emption per se, merely a Hobbesian explanation of why pre-emption is certain in the horrible state of nature.

Could this be how America now sees the world? As a stateless place where we can attack for gain, safety, or reputation? Where we are constantly under threat from those envious of our wealth or afraid of our power? One could certainly view 9/11, Afghanistan, and the gulf wars through this lens:

[I]f one plant, sow, build, or possesse a convenient Seat, others may probably be expected to come prepared with forces united, to dispossesse, and deprive him, not only of the fruit of his labour, but also of his life or liberty. And the Invader again is in the like danger of another.

Further, perhaps what international law we have (had?) is seen as a sham that restricts the American ability to protect itself without providing any of the protection that would induce us to consent to such governance.

Whether one believes in an international Hobbesian state of nature or not, we certainly seem to be pushing closer to one.

UPDATE: I should have known Matthew Yglesias had already touched on the subject:

It seems to me that the Russo-Franco-Chinese position that no military action should be undertaken without Security Council authorization is, in fact, very Hobbesian. The idea is that, absent rules, life will be nasty, short, and brutish and that we ought to avoid creating such an anarchic situation at all costs. It follows from this that, given an institution capable of articulating global rules of conduct we ought to enhance its authority and turn it into a global Sovereign of sorts.

At any rate, what Kagan seems to be doing by labeling US policy as “Hobbesian” is identifying Hobbes with the sort of anarchic situation he most feared.

OK, so America wouldn't be Hobbesian... it'd just be accepting Hobbes' view of the state of nature, and applying it to the international scene. Unlike Hobbes, it isn't really looking for a way out of this state. Instead it sees pre-emptive action as an American pregorative (as a member of the state of nature), and is clearly willing to use it.