Global cop's tactics are wearing thin

When George Bush was on his first visit to China as America's President in November, he made a point of "sharing with" his Chinese counterpart, Jiang Zemin, "how faith changed my life and how faith contributes to the life of my country".

One can only speculate what went through the mind of the veteran Chinese communist, who ascended to power as part of the post-Tiananmen crackdown on incipient democratic reform. Quite possibly, he might have wondered if American foreign policy was being imbued with yet another wave of missionary zeal, heightened by the September 11 terrorist attacks.

Six months after those attacks, it is not only Chinese communists (whose status in Washington had in any case changed from "partner" to "competitor" with the incoming Bush Administration) who are worried about the changing American psyche, and its worldwide effects.