While I'm not saying this [money] was the only motivation behind the positions of the U.N., France, Russia, and others

Among the many things Bush squandered in a year of bullying and insulting allies was the deep reservoir of sympathy and support we gained after 9/11. The UN and the others could not only see the logic and the compelling arguments for going into Afghanistan, they were emotionally inclined to support us.

We could sure use their help now. Did you raise your hand when Mary Anne asked if anyone thought we had a snowball's chance of getting their help now?

As for our present vulnerability to psychological manipulation by terrorists, Marcia's thread above on Afghanistan has me thinking of "what ifs". What if Bush had remained focused on Afghanistan, where Al Qaeda can really be found? There was no urgency about attacking Iraq, especially not with unfinished business in Afghanistan. What if we'd been able to devote the resources that went into Iraq to continuing to go after Al Qaeda and the Taliban? What if we'd had the focus and resources to put more pressure on Pakistan, even going into northwest Pakistan and telling the Pakistanis to shove it if they don't like it? Could we have broken Al Qaeda by now?

Guess we'll never know for sure. But I strongly suspect that we've missed an opportunity to make genuine progress in the war on terrorism, and for that I can't help but blame Bush.