"... Of principles and politics

The incompetence of the state-building exercise in Iraq since 2003 does, however, leave not only Iraq in a dangerous state but also the world.  Its failure so far to provide either security or legitimacy has turned Iraq into a cause célèbre and a training ground for violence.  Worse, it has made the world's only available policeman look weak, which encourages other troublemakers, and has undermined the cause of international engagement in both America and Europe.  And the very principles that Mr Bush says he is fighting for—democracy, human rights—have been undermined by the appalling injustice of Guantánamo Bay and other extra-judicial detentions.

The juxtaposition described in this editorial, of economic progress with political fractiousness and conflict, could lead to a sanguine conclusion.  Even the war in Iraq, even oil at $60-70 a barrel, cannot halt the march of globalisation.    An even more decisive tipping would come from the use by terrorists of some form of WMD, supplied by someone emboldened by Iraqi chaos.  Another candidate could be a miscalculation by a bigger country elsewhere—China, say, over Taiwan—of the opportunities provided by American weakness and transatlantic divisions.

Are these thoughts more apocalyptic than realistic?  History suggests not.    That's why this departing editor wishes fervently that his successor's time will see a redoubled American effort in Iraq, a revival of help from other countries in dealing with that conflict and with others, and a firm acknowledgment by politicians everywhere that the case for international engagement and openness needs to be made continually.  It will certainly be made by The Economist.

'VALEDICTORY: A long goodbye'
Bill Emmott
Editor of The Economist