The Stakes Abroad Go Even Higher
President Bush had intended to spend much of 2008 focusing on foreign affairs, and that's just how things are turning out—though not entirely by choice. The assassination of Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto last month made international issues even more salient, upping the ante for Bush's upcoming trip to the Mideast. He leaves January 8 to promote peacemaking and goodwill in Israel, Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt. And while his initial impulse was to moderate conflicts between Israel and the Palestinians, the turmoil in Pakistan is sure to come up.
The president is working with allies to stabilize the government there and at the same time pressure the regime to implement democratic reforms and continue the fight against terrorism, where Pakistan has played an important role. All this fits into a historical pattern. As a president approaches lame-duck status in his final year, he tends to focus on foreign policy, where he has more latitude than on domestic issues.
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