Statecraft is a modulator's art. "Sometimes you move publicly, sometimes privately. Sometimes quietly, sometimes at the top of your voice. And sometimes an active policy is best advanced by doing nothing until the right time -- or never."
Since James Baker said that on a Texas turkey shoot shortly before he became Secretary of State, the Bush Administration's conduct of foreign policy has been scathingly criticized. The common complaint, thrown out again last week by House majority leader Richard Gephardt, portrays George Bush as a visionless bystander in a changing world. It is a cheap critique that misses the point. As...
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