The Archbishop of Canterbury has launched a stinging attack on America, comparing it unfavourably with the British Empire at its peak.
Dr Rowan Williams condemned America for moving on from Iraq and leaving others to "put it back together".
In an interview with a Muslim lifestyle magazine the head of the Church of England also attacked modern society, saying parts of Western culture "eat away at the soul".
The Archbishop said America's attempts to accumulate influence and control around the world were "not working".
America in Iraq had tried a "short burst of violent action" in an attempt to "clear the decks", he said.
In comparison, Britain in India had "poured in resources" to try and normalise the country.
He told a magazine: "We have only one global hegemonic power. It is not accumulating territory: it is trying to accumulate influence and control. That's not working. It is one thing to take over a territory and then pour energy and resources in to administering it and normalising it.
"Rightly or wrongly, that's what the British Empire did - in India, for example.
"It is another thing to go in on the assumption that a quick burst of violent action will somehow clear the decks and that you can move on and other people will put it back together - Iraq, for example."
He went on: "Our modern Western definition of humanity is clearly not working very well. There is something about Western modernity which really does eat away at the soul."
