Excerpts from an editorial in The Times of London yesterday:
Big shifts are going on in American foreign policy, not least among the pragmatic wing of President Bush’s advisers. Suddenly we have a senior US representative attending talks with Iran when only a short while ago Bush had ridiculed Barack Obama, the Democratic candidate, for even suggesting such a thing. This means that the possibility of an Israeli attack on Iran, which would need US assistance, is receding fast.
Is Bush also beginning to think about withdrawing US troops from Iraq sooner rather than later after the apparent success of the “surge”? Might he then consider putting more troops into Afghanistan? If so, he is getting dangerously close to pursuing Obama’s foreign policy and effectively undermining John McCain, the Republican candidate, who has been arguing for a more robust foreign policy and sticking it out in Iraq well into the future. Foreign policy has been regarded as Obama’s weak point and a source of strength for McCain, a Vietnam War hero. With Bush showing such moderation, he is effectively saying that new thinking is needed and Obama’s policies may not be so wacky after all.
As Obama sets off this weekend on his tour of Iraq, Afghanistan, the Middle East and Europe, he is undoubtedly the world’s candidate of choice for the White House.
