Foreign Crises Stretch U.S. In Election Year

[kskiska]

Monday, March 8, 2004; Page A01

With Haiti's drama and the flare-up of violence in Iraq, the United States faces an overload of crises that Republicans and Democrats agree will be even more difficult to deal with now that the presidential campaign is in full swing.

Rarely has Washington had such a large and diverse array of foreign policy problems to juggle as leaders of both parties hit the campaign trail. And rarely have those crises been so central to an election, evident in the scathing volleys between President Bush and Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) over the past week.

In the first presidential election since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the Bush administration finds its foreign policy initiatives to defend the United States from the new threats becoming hot election issues -- and liabilities. "It's fighting three wars: Iraq, Afghanistan and the global war on terror. It has to deal with everything from Colombia to Haiti, the Palestinians to North Korea, the World Trade Organization. If someone is arguing the administration has a lot on its plate and it is stretched, they've got a point," said Richard N. Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations and a top foreign policy planning official in both Bush administrations.

But the broader question is whether the confluence of crises -- and the intense election debate they have spawned -- will crimp U.S. willingness or ability to focus on new problems or opportunities, leaving Washington instead reacting and on the defensive. Some Republican insiders have adopted a crisis-avoidance mantra for the election season: "No war in '04."

(snip)

There are already signs that the Bush administration may be reluctant to tackle new hot spots, which Republicans and Democrats say is what happened during the uprising against President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, Haiti's controversial but democratically elected leader.

Washington resisted getting embroiled until the final days of the confrontation, despite long-brewing signs of trouble, because of "time and resources and focus and energy," said Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.). With so many troops tied down in Iraq and elsewhere, "the last thing we need is another problem. So we try to get out on the cheap," he said.

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A38937-2004Mar7.html

[UpInArms]

1. and this mal-administration is responsible for all

of the conflicts that are occurring.

They have absolutely no clue about diplomacy, nuance, integrity, coalition building, cooperation with allies and consideration of those that are not.

Their simplistic terms "either with us or against us" - the "our way or the highway" mentality has inflamed tempers and antagonized everyone across the globe.

All I can say is "don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out and don't try to pilfer the silver and china, assholes."

[jburton]

2. Terrible mess

After Bush* "won" the presidency, I expected a policy that would ignore the world and let it go to hell through neglect.

Instead, they have let the world go to hell ON PURPOSE.