Powell, the famously moderate multilateralist, may be the only one who can turn back this assault and protect the president's flank. In fact, the secretary of state may prove indispensable to the success of the Bush Doctrine. He will have some credibility when he makes the case for "regime change" in Iraq.
President George W. Bush's State of the Union remarks labeling Iran, Iraq and North Korea as an axis of evil quickly circled the globe and re-ignited fears of a more aggressive brand of U.S. unilateralism.
What next in the war on terrorism? The mission in Afghanistan is not over and al Qaeda is not finished. But this does not preclude dealing with Iraq. How we act will decisively affect our future security and will shape the emerging world order. Either it will be conducive to our liberal democratic principles or will be one where tyrants can hold democracy and international security hostage.
Periods of poor U.S.-European relations are nothing new, and times of mutual criticism go back to the beginnings of this country. Even times of predictions that the relationship is on the point of fracture are not all that infrequent. But today's poor relations hold major consequences not only for the transatlantic relationship, but for the world as a whole.