| We have neutralized Iraq, made Iran and Syria more cautious, gotten the North Koreans to agree to multi- lateral talks, gotten a new Israeli/Palestinian peace intiative off the ground, gained more cooperation from the Saudis than we have ever had in respect of terror before, had magnificent cooperation among the various national anti- terror services, helped to broker a cessation of hostilities in Liberia, caused the UN to begin reassessing its role, caused NATO to consider the different views of its members in relation to the United States. We have thwarted planned attacks, mostly but not exclusively in Europe, and rounded up, with our allies, a lot of Al- Qaida operatives. We have encouraged popular demonstrations in Iran, against the theocracy. We have begun a process of healing rifts on a franker basis. To me, all of this adds up to being stronger, and is very much worth it. It matters little if you have a lot of wealth or a large military if people do not think you will ever use it, or do not appreciate how very powerful it really is. Our diplomacy will be stronger because of all of this....... |
