CLAREMONT, California -- America's ability to play a positive role in the world, especially with regard to supporting its allies and friends, depends significantly on achieving its wartime aims in Iraq. While it is common to speak of the United States as the world's only remaining superpower, at best this is a transient designation: History books enthrall us with tales of the decline and fall of superpowers. A failure of political or military nerve in Iraq will lead to a tectonic shift in the world community, including the creation of a power vacuum that will tempt all sorts of dangerous ambitions.

Accordingly, there is reason to worry about the impact of the extraordinary onslaught by America's media and political elite on the war and on the Bush administration. Judging from the ceaseless torrent of criticism by these elites, there is nothing good whatsoever coming from the Iraq war -- no benefits for the Iraqi people, no progress in the war on terrorism, no enhanced security for America, its allies or the people of the region.

Good news is usually not carried by America's media. By and large, the world media imitate this negativism. Indeed, anything that may be positive for the Bush administration goes unnoticed or is buried deep in the back pages of the newspaper. These elites have made up their minds: U.S. President George W. Bush, whose resolve is the backbone of America's determination to win in Iraq, must go.