Yes, the Bush administration is clearly different. In neutral terms, it pursues a much more aggressive, assertive foreign policy. It is very clear that many people abroad, including foreign leaders and the public in European and other countries worldwide, perceive it as arrogant. That is a problem that the Bush administration has. It either is arrogant or is strongly perceived as arrogant. It is their job to make sure they do not cause extreme diplomatic offense. No one likes to be bullied or to feel like they are being bullied by that “old cowboy attitude.” I talked to President Bush about this, and he knows that he is perceived as a “toxic Texan.” His feeling is, as he has said repeatedly, that he wants to protect the country. The issue is whether he has seen or realized something that others have not. Is his conviction right? Maybe Iraq did pose a threat. The aftermath could be a period of stability, but that has yet to be determined. Perhaps Bush will be seen as the president who was willing to walk the road alone based on conviction, like Abraham Lincoln who was willing to undergo a bloody civil war to save the Union, which history regards as a very courageous undertaking. Powell laid out the risks and their potential consequences during the discussion of the war. There are certainly risks. Powell said the war could suck all the oxygen out of everything else that the United States does in foreign policy. It turned out that it sucked the oxygen out of everything the country does, including economics and domestic politics. Time will tell if President Bush was right. 




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