“The West Stares into the Abyss,” proclaims an article from Germany’s Der Spiegel, warning that yet another country “is on the brink of chaos: That is the stark message from local leaders, the U.S. military and development workers in the troubled country. The elected government, they warn, can no longer …” However, the dateline is March 20, 2009. The world has managed to continue on – somehow.