Barack Obama is back from Asia and his bow to the Japanese, his handshake with the tyrant from Myanmar and his difficult sessions with the Chinese. There sure has been a lot of talk about the president and his submissiveness in Asia.
WASHINGTON -- Is it possible to hear the sound of hands wringing? Or of souls agonizing? Or of ironies clanging?
We thought it meant the end of international contention. We thought it meant the nuclear menace was no more. We thought it meant Russia and America, the two powers of the future envisioned by de Tocqueville, could be friends. We thought it meant the end of espionage. We thought it might even be the end of history.
It may be that a swift resolution to the Afghanistan debate is essential. It may be that political pressures make delay unappealing or even impossible. It may be that President Barack Obama's growing reputation for leisurely consideration and for easy compromise requires him to make a brisk ruling on American policy in Afghanistan.