I can't tell you how many times I have heard this phrase regarding Washington's farewell address, and as counsel to the nation in how to handle our affairs. Strangely, Washington never uttered those words in his farewell address (see it here) and is often misquoted. The phrase is a fair summation of what he said, though he was speaking particularly of non commercial treaties and the "intrigues of Europe." It seems what he feared most was the newly birthed US being used in European politics, inevitably ending in the loss of American lives and money.

What bring this to mind if Tony Blair's autobiography (see quotes here). In it he talks about being willing to invade Iraq if he had it all to do over again. He raises an interesting point about Iraq in the hands of Saddam's sons Uday and Kusai and being unwilling to accept such madness. I wonder how different Iraq would have been? It's very possible that Uday and Kusai would have bent under international pressure, it's equally possible they would have been immediately diposed. The real question is, should we have cared? At what point does what happens in another country matter to the US?
Don't get me wrong, I am okay with dropping the hammer on Iraq, but for me, it is a function of what happens when another leader decides they want an American President dead. I can even stomach the argument about oil - we should protect our own resources. But this isn't the argument that was made. Instead, there was an appeal made to "protect" the Iraqis and "give" them freedom.
Are we responsible for freeing other nations from oppressive regimes?
If so, there are far worse situations we could have addressed than what was occurring in Iraq.