While I agree with Krauthammer in general, I strenuously disagree with Krauthammer on one key and vital area:

The two Balkan interventions — as well as the failed 1992-93 Somalia intervention to feed starving African Muslims (43 Americans were killed) — were humanitarian exercises of the highest order, there being no significant U.S. strategic interest at stake.

Failed states are where terrorist groups like al Qaeda operate with impunity, knowing that they can operate outside the law (no law enforcement to worry about in the lawless regions of Yemen, Somalia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, etc.)

Failed states are an incubator for jihadis, and bringing law and order to such regions are of utmost concern if you want to limit the reach of terrorist groups like al Qaeda. It means engaging in peacemaking operations to root out terror regimes and warlords who rule the area, engage in piracy and other human rights degradations.

The two concepts of humanitarian aid and strategic interest are not as separate and distinct as Krauthammer makes it out to be. Note that al Qaeda’s ranks are made up of people from those regions - Somalia, Yemen, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, precisely because they can operate freely. They flocked to Iraq hoping to repeat their successes elsewhere and thwart US ambitions to turn Iraq into something better - a functioning government that is answerable to the people. Al Qaeda lost that war because they took to murdering the very people they were hoping to sway to their side. The barbarian streak shines through, and its one that is cultivated in those lawless failed states and regions.