Through all the laying of flowers on graves, the display of flags, the singing of "Amazing Grace," a lot of Americans are catching on to the fact that our defenses have never been in worse shape. Ever. In our history.
And that's not just because our military have been exhausted and nearly wiped out in a "war of choice," chosen to inflate a few egos. It's because our real bulwark against attack has been wiped out. Respect and affection for America -- and cooperation with us -- are at their lowest.
The countries in which America is still held in more or less favorable odor are very few–Nigeria, Poland, India and the Philippines, for instance–and even there the numbers are not good by historical standards, and they are falling. The numbers among our core historical allies, in Europe, North America and East Asia have deteriorated to the point where they will unavoidably dampen cooperation, including in counter-terrorism efforts.
Look at what's happened to one former friend.
I was in Istanbul working on a transaction some eight years ago when Bill Clinton visited the city for the OSCE Summit. I remember that he was received by admiring throngs everywhere he went. The U.S.-Turkish alliance seemed locked in for a generation and public confidence in America unflappable. But today, public approval of President Bush in the world’s most successful democracy with a Muslim population is so low that it is within the margin of error for the poll. In other words, it may be zero. This is a staggering feat of reputation-sabbotage.
Within America and beyond, the Bush administration has turned our country into a place of lawlessness and injustice. From Guantanamo to suspension of habeas corpus and extraordinary renditions, we have become outlaws.
In my mind, process is key. That is to say, if changes are undertaken, they must not be done in secret. They must be done through the processes the Constitution and laws contemplate.
Until we restore genuine, Constitutional "law and order" -- a phrase too often used on the right to mean preferential treatment -- we will have neither the respect of the world nor that of generations of Americans to come.
