How can even America's friends feel anything but concern for the foreign policies of President George W. Bush? How can neutrals feel anything but anger for what they see as America's desertion of the principles which made it great? How can Muslims feel anything but hostility against an America whose government seems to be in the hands of Christian fundamentalists and Jewish zealots? How can the world at large feel comfortable with an America which has lost its wisdom, a 60-year-old ability to lead by example and consensus?
It is no wonder that Vice-President Dick Cheney kept a low profile on his visit to East Asia last week. People here may not care much about the Middle East, but they can see what it is doing to America's position in the world. Those - South Korea, Japan, Thailand, the Philippines - who out of past loyalty and following heavy pressure have sent forces to Iraq are finding out the hard way the morass into which the US and its few European allies (principally the ever-faithful British running dogs) has led them. Whether or not they now withdraw from Iraq, they will think twice before agreeing to future US requests for help, however valid.
Iraq is unlikely to be a tragedy on the scale of Vietnam. But that war was a response to the global divisions of the time, and enjoyed the backing of most non-communist states in the region. No such claims can be made for the war in Iraq, which, as events before and after have shown, was primarily driven by motives less noble than establishing democracy and/or ridding Iraq of weapons of mass destruction.
The tragic events in Fallujah might perhaps, on another occasion, have been noted as just one of those unfortunate things that happen in war. However, the US actions had the hallmarks of the arrogance of an army of occupation, not one bringing freedom. By all means, seek to bring justice to those who murdered civilians. But the kill ratio alone - roughly 10 Iraqis dead for every US or allied death - tells the story of 'liberation'. Fallujah reminds one of that infamous quote during the battle for Hue in the Vietnam war; that it was necessary to destroy the ancient city in order to save it (from communism).
There is no easy way out for the US now that it has, with scant aforethought, become bogged down. Even giving some real authority to the very United Nations that Mr Bush so despises may be too late. The Iraq intervention may well have set off a long-term chain of disorder in that corner of the world where Arabs, Iranians, Turks, Kurds, Israelis, Sunnis and Shi'ites meet. The creation of the Mujahedeen to fight a Russian-backed secular administration in Afghanistan led to warlordism and the Taleban. Where Iraq will lead is beyond anyone's powers of prediction.
But even Iraq was the result of at least some good intentions, of mistakes made in the heat of the moment, or of apparently reasonable actions which had unintended consequences.
