Opinion
. ..International diplomacy has become single-minded and it will remain so for many years to come, as the war against terrorism may have begun with the military campaign against the Taleban but is not going to be concluded in Afghanistan. This is not because this is what some hawks in the US administration desire but rather because terrorism is not confined to a certain territory or race. However, the single-mindedness of international diplomacy has essentially paralyzed every other activity, at least at the present juncture, as even the Palestinian dispute which has in part fueled the extremism of the Arab population has not been promoted into a first-priority foreign policy issue despite the initiative of US Secretary of State Colin Powell. Needless to say, other, less important issues that are not related to terrorism, such as the situation in the Balkan peninsula or the Cyprus problem, will not concern the top American officials and their handling will be undertaken by their staff members. Of course, it is not possible to force the USA to deal with other international issues, for the disaster they suffered was devastating and, in any case, the abilities of any American administration in emergency situations like the present one are not unlimited, as some critics of the USA or uncritical supporters tend to think…
