As Ben Katcher writes in Washington Note, even if everything comes out right domestically, Obama still faces skepticism overseas. The guy everyone loved around the world during his campaign is not as popular now. Take the "WMD" problem...
While increased popular support in Europe is nice, it won't mean anything for America's strategic interests if the Obama administration cannot restore our credibility.
The Bush administration squandered two kinds of American credibility. The first relates to other governments' perceptions of whether the United States can achieve the goals that it sets out for itself. As Steve Clemons has noted on this blog, the Iraq war demonstrated America's limits in dramatic, devastating fashion.
And as Steve pointed out yesterday, the same thing may be happening in Afghanistan, as we escalate our commitment there. The best thing Obama could do to restore American credibility would be to score a big win on some international issue of consequence - something he has yet to do.
The second kind of American credibility relates to whether the United States tells the truth. The "Weapons of Mass Destruction" mess tarnished America's credibility in this area as well. Whether foreign capitals accept the Obama administration's statement yesterday that Iran has enough nuclear fuel to make a nuclear weapon may indicate whether America's credibility has rebounded in this area.
