The Foreign Service Journal, February 2007

package of concessions that are big enough to elicit agreement from North Korea and at the same time small enough to allow the adminis- tration to avoid admitting it has conceded anything. Things don’t look much better in Europe. Tony Blair will step down at some point this year. He, too, must worry about his legacy, which consists of so slavishly supporting Washington’s policies that he is often referred to as Bush’s poodle. That, of course, is incorrect. Poodles are a French breed; Blair is clearly a terrier. Regardless of his papers, his dogged desire to be a wartime leader will serve him no better than it has served Bush. Further east in Europe, Bush seemed initially to get off to a good start. When he met Vladimir Putin for the first time, he said he looked into his eyes and saw into his soul. He declared the Russian president was straightfor- ward and trustworthy. But these days Putin seems too busy poisoning his critics to cooperate on any new initia- tives. Focus on Damage Control Because of the uniformly bleak prospects around the world, the next two years will not consist of bold new strokes or innovative ideas in foreign affairs. Yes, Nixon went to China. But where could Bush go and have simi- lar impact, especially when he has labeled most of those potential partners as evildoers? The administration, with the Secretary of State in her usual role as head cheerleader, will instead concentrate on damage control and spin for its final two years. The main focus will be on constructing any end to the Iraqi adventure that can be portrayed as something other than a disaster. That work is already under way. In his classified memo of Nov. 6, 2006, which was quickly leaked to the press, Secretary Rumsfeld included the following two suggestions among his recommendations for the presi- dent regarding Iraq: • Recast the U.S. military mission and the U.S. goals (how we talk about them) to go minimalist. • Announce that whatever new approach the U.S. decides on is being pursued strictly on a trial basis. This will give us the ability to readjust and move to another course, if nec- essary, and thereby avoiding “los- ing.” The cynicism inherent in those bullets and the interest in putting the manipulation of public opinion above all else will come as no sur- prise to anyone who has followed the administration’s consistent abuse of language and facts. If George Orwell were alive today, he would be too embarrassed to be a White House speech writer or press secretary. While Colin Powell had no problem being employed for such purposes during the first term, now that he is out of government he has become openly critical of the kind of policies he used to defend. Several months ago he wrote that “the world is beginning to doubt the moral basis of our fight against terrorism.” The legislation he was objecting to was promptly passed and signed by the president, even though Powell also pointed out that the bill would put our troops at greater risk. Powell was wrong about the world’s opinion, however. Doubt is not “beginning,” but already widespread. There can be few people abroad who compare our deeds with our rhetoric and don’t think we are as dishonest as we are sanctimonious. Bush will be remembered for beginning to deploy a missile defense system. Perhaps the historians will over- look the fact that it is a system that doesn’t work to counter a threat that doesn’t exist. The source of an inter- continental ballistic missile is unambiguous, and a dicta- tor who launched one at the United States would know that he would shortly be toast. But the real purpose of the system is not to enhance homeland security. It is to allow its supporters to say they are stronger on national defense than anyone who isn’t willing to waste $10 billion a year on such a useless project. If the Soviet Union had hung on for five more years, Ronald Reagan’s presidency would have been known only for his senility, tripling the national debt and the Iran-Contra scandal. But because communism’s inher- ent contradictions caught up with it when they did, Reagan’s hagiographers will continue to attribute its fall to his one-liners. The Berlin Wall did begin to crack while he occupied the Oval Office, but the historical F O C U S 34 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / F E B R U A R Y 2 0 0 7 Our low global standing is due in no small part to the administration’s attitude that the opinion of foreigners doesn’t matter.