A Driven President Faces a World of Crises

He's not a President who's known for introspection so it's unlikely that George Bush, even in the wee small hours of the morning, ever asks himself if the invading of Iraq was a mistake.

It has certainly curtailed his ability to properly respond to other problems and, as such, certain situations have been allowed to escalate out of control in a way that, before the Iraqi invasion, would have seemed unthinkable.

The situation in Afghanistan is worsening, Somalia is in mayhem and, in the Middle East, Israel have embarked upon an operation in Gaza that is jaw dropping in it's illegality.

Add to this the actual state of play on the ground in Iraq and the suspicion that Iran may be about to acquire a nuclear capability and it's hard to know where to start.

Then, just to spice up the mix a bit more, North Korea start testing long range weapons when we already suspect they have a nuclear capability.

"I am hard-pressed to think of any other moment in modern times where there have been so many challenges facing this country simultaneously," said Richard N. Haass, a former senior Bush administration official who heads the Council on Foreign Relations. "The danger is that Mr. Bush will hand over a White House to a successor that will face a far messier world, with far fewer resources left to cope with it."

Of course the Republicans deny that the war in Iraq has had any negative impact on their role as the world's policeman.

National security adviser Stephen J. Hadley said in an interview yesterday that such criticism is misplaced, adding that victory in Iraq is crucial to success in fighting terrorists and in creating a new democracy that could serve as a beacon to other Middle Eastern countries. "Is it a major investment? Yes," he said. "The stakes are high [in Iraq], but we think the rewards are commensurate to the effort, and the consequences of lack of success are sobering.

However, it is surely a source of worry, even to the neo-cons, when some of their most stalwart backers start to express doubts about the war's validity and it's ability to curtail American involvement in so many other of the world's hot spots.

"North Korea is firing missiles. Iran is going nuclear. Somalia is controlled by radical Islamists. Iraq isn't getting better, and Afghanistan is getting worse," said William Kristol, editor of the Weekly Standard and a leading conservative commentator. "I give the president a lot of credit for hanging tough on Iraq. But I am worried that it has made them too passive in confronting the other threats."

When even Kristol is expressing doubt one would presume the alarm bells would start to ring at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, similar to the way they rang after Walter Kronkite ruled out victory in Vietnam.

However, the present incumbent doesn't allow such trifles to bother him. He knows he's right. He just feels it.

Why don't I find that remotely reassuring?

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Tags: Bush, Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia, Iran, North Korea, Israel, Palestine, crisis,