A Driven President Faces a World of Crises

From North Korea to Iran, Somalia to Afghanistan and places in between, the US government faces a barrage of conflicts that could hinder the Bush administration’s stated foreign policy goal of democracy building. Committing so many resources in Iraq has limited US flexibility in responding to other crises, and some observers from both political parties in the US express pessimism about the administration’s ability to address so many issues at one time. Others, however, view recent developments as an opportunity to inspire activity from other nations that before did not feel threatened. For example, North Korean missile tests could urge China to strengthen attempts to control Pyongyang. Overwhelmed by current events, the Bush administration has perceptibly moved from a champion of unilateralism to a multilateral approach, discovering of late that the US cannot handle the world alone. – YaleGlobal