It is sometimes convenient, for purposes of rhetorical effect, for national leaders to talk of a globe neatly divided into good and bad. It is quite another, however, to base the policies of the world's most powerful nation upon that fiction. The administration's penchant for painting its perceived adversaries with the same sweeping brush has led to a series of unintended consequences.
Although this is not an administration known for taking advice, I offer three suggestions.
The first is to understand that although we all want to "end tyranny in this world," that is a fantasy unless we begin to solve hard problems.
Second, the Bush administration should disavow any plan for regime change in Iran — not because the regime should not be changed but because U.S. endorsement of that goal only makes it less likely.
Third, the administration must stop playing solitaire while Middle East and Persian Gulf leaders play poker.
This is the world, the president pledges in his National Security Strategy, that "America must continue to lead." Actually, it is the world he must begin to address — before it is too late.
