America's predicament

Abstract

America is divided at home and bitterly resented abroad. This is not the position that even a global military hegemon can afford to be in as it confronts terrorist movement with an apocalyptic streak and finds itself in a difficult counter-insurgency battle in Iraq. The re-election of President George W. Bush does not, obviously, offer the kind of fresh start that American allies were hoping for. In the United States itself, the Republicans' convincing electoral win hardly masks the anxiety and recriminations among policy elites and a large minority of the general public. Still, the US and its allies need to find enough common ground to deal realistically with the realities that face them. These include the consequences of a quagmire in Iraq and dire relations with the Islamic world.