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Abstract

September 2003 has marked the 'low point' of the President Bush’s first term. The quick military triumph over the Baathist Regime last spring has proved to be his undoing at home as well as abroad. Bush and the Neo-Conservative faction that came to power with him gambled the success of his presidency and his chance for re-election on quick and decisive victories in his war against terrorism. They took these risks in the hope that military victory would transform the post war international system and break down domestic constraints on the proactive use of American military power. Now it seems that in both the Iraq and Afghan theatres, the war looks like a draw if not an outright loss. Overseas, the conquest of Baghdad has proved to be the rock that nearly wrecked the Premier-ship of Tony Blair and may yet break the Transatlantic partnership that has united America and Europe for 50 years. At home, the 'war after the war' has broken apart the bipartisan patriotic front that emerged following attacks on New York and Washington. The future of the Neo-Conservative revolution in diplomacy is now in doubt along with Bush’s chances for reelection.

John G. Mason is a Professor and the Chair of political science at the William Patterson University (New Jersey).