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Most Europeans, having been through two wars on their continent, favor diplomacy as a solution. Maybe if I had lived through that I would be the same way.

It is vital that your diplomats and your military be seen as two approaches of the same policy, the carrot and the stick, if you will. If your diplomats are simply there to deliver declarations of war, you will have to solve all disagreements with the military. This is not good, as it costs lives which might be saved if the threat is implied and the diplomats can talk your opponent into a concession.

Powell is doing a good job; so is Rumsfeld. They are two sides of the same coin, which is American pre-eminence on the world stage.

"Powell is doing a good job; so is Rumsfeld. They are two sides of the same coin, which is American pre-eminence on the world stage."

Yes, and while this article seems to give more credit than I would to Powell, we have a President who knows the value of good men, and opposing views to help him make decisions. Thank God!

I was taken aback by that paragraph about Powell and Rumsfeld, too. Rees Mogg is ordinarily a very authoritative and intelligent commentator, but it seems to me that he greatly simplified matters in that paragraph, and certainly misrepresented Rumsfeld's contribution. As you say, Powell and Rumsfeld have both been doing their jobs, and they are both loyal to Bush's leadership.